


Something Was Missing

by agentsimmons



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable Hulk, BAMF Hulk, Bruce & Hulk Interaction, Bruce Banner Cooks, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Canonical Character Death, Comic Book Science, Comic Book Violence, Dead Phil Coulson, Domestic, Fade to Black, Foreplay, Fridge Logic, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Gun Violence, Hulk Is A Relationship Therapist, Hulk Needs a Hug, Hulk Talks, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Kid Fic, Kid Pietro Maximoff, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Light Angst, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Manipulative Nick Fury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Murder, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Parent Tony Stark, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Past Violence, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Hulk, Protective Tony Stark, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Slow Burn, Telepathic Wanda Maximoff, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Can't Cook, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-06-06 09:31:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 70,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6748405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsimmons/pseuds/agentsimmons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>Name(s):</strong> Pietro and Wanda Maximoff<br/>
<strong>Date of Birth:</strong> 2004</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Living<br/>
<strong>Current Location:</strong> [Redacted]<br/>
<strong>Mother:</strong> Marya Maximoff (Deceased)<br/>
<strong>Father:</strong> Tony Stark (Living)</p><p><strong>SHIELD Notes:</strong> Taken into custody during HYDRA base infiltration on [Date Redacted] 2009. HYDRA database files indicate twins were subjected to experiments under Baron Von Strucker's PROJECT MIRACLE. Further SHIELD analysis indicates genetic mutation that has led to super human abilities. Twins moved to SHIELD orphanage for safe keeping and further monitoring. HYDRA files name mother as former HYDRA Scientist Marya Maximoff, selected for breeding based on high IQ. Anthony Stark named as biological father, by means of [Sensitive Information Redacted], selected for breeding based on high IQ. DNA testing and match confirms Tony Stark as father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, this fic will have implied rape/non-con and potentially graphic depictions of violence. 
> 
> Secondly, this is a fic that has been finished since around Christmas time as it was a present for my cousin - who requested this fic after we watched Age of Ultron the second or third weekend it was out. So this fic is almost a year old and it really reads like it imo (and I held off on posting it for that reason; I don't think it's very good). Many of the specific details and plot points in this fic were requested by my cousin or inspired by conversations with her over the course of the writing process. If you love it, it's mostly to her credit. If you hate it, well...she loved it so that's what matters to me ♥ It's mostly unedited from the fic that I gave to her in the end

4 months, 8 days and 33 minutes.  

That's how long he had been on the grid. There was an ongoing tally of minutes in his head, telling him he probably shouldn't stay. And for 4 months, 8 days and 33 minutes, he had ignored them all. Incidentally, today was day 125 of his visit to Candyland, which apparently was a misnomer because he most certainly had fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in Wonderland instead. He had always fancied himself the Mad Hatter until meeting Tony Stark.  

It had been 128 days since the Chitauri invasion. The Avengers had gone their separate ways since then, having not yet been needed to regroup. No threat had been too imminent that SHIELD couldn't handle it on its own with Steve, Natasha and Clint's help as agents – Steve decided to march to Fury's fife after all, Tony had quipped once not that Bruce had understood the story behind it; he didn't ask either. Thor had returned to Asgard of course and was yet to come back. Tony remained a consultant, smoothing over things more like a politician throwing his clout around rather than doing much of anything with the suit, but Bruce knew Tony was playing for something much bigger; Tony was in the process of converting the top 20 floors of Stark Tower, which were originally residential suites, into a space he hoped would become a headquarters for their mismatched and motley crew (his words, not Bruce's).  

If Bruce had to give a rhyme or reason for why he was still with Stark, even working freelance for Stark Industries, he would allow himself to say it was because Tony's mad hat optimism was contagious. Fury swore he was safer where threats could be contained and said he was working on obtaining government-granted protection – Bruce had snorted, dismissing such a pipe dream – meanwhile Tony had shown him as much footage as he could get his hands on of the Other Guy in battle and though he was loathe to believe it, it did seem rather contrary to what he had come to believe about his alter ego (with the one grand exception prior to the battle being that he had once protected Betty, which he would forever be grateful for).  

So with tentative optimism, Day 125 at Stark Tower was shaping up to be like any other as he wandered into his personal lab on the 86th floor. It was a space he didn't share with Tony or anyone else, although there was a shared lab and weapons testing room being built on the floor above for Avengers purposes, because he needed space sometimes to work on his own stuff, for SI or otherwise. Although, he also had a designated lab in the R&D department complete with staff assigned to him which boggled his mind on the best days.  

"You're getting spoiled, Banner," he chided himself as he often did when he let himself think about how rapidly his world was changing and how strangely he didn't fight it.  

Shaking his head and clearing his mind, he set to work right away checking on the progress of multiple projects in the incubation or simulation processes. He then gave his attention to the math for a teleportation prototype in the theoretical stages. An hour later he was interrupted by Tony, which meant something might be amiss. The engineer was surprisingly good about not bothering him here in person – giving this lab the same respect he expected others to give his personal workshop. Or more aptly said, Tony had an almost-open invitation to this lab and Bruce had an almost-open invitation to Tony's workshop and both refused to abuse that privilege.  

"Something wrong?" Bruce turned in his seat and looked worriedly at the other man.  

Tony shook his head. "Just got a call about a prisoner delivery from SHIELD HQ out to the Raft. They want me to go as escort with the other three. Fly along, keep an eye out, just in case there's a van break." 

"Oh. They want the Other Guy for that?" Bruce quirked an eyebrow, not following Tony's logic of coming to tell him. 

"Just thought I'd let you know where I was heading," Tony answered. Bruce wondered a little at that. It wasn't like they always kept each other in a constant loop. He could have just as easily been informed by JARVIS. "But I was thinking we should all meet up for a team meal after this little shindig."  

"Ah." Tony knew better than to extend invitations to go out by way of anything other than face to face communication when possible. It wasn't that Bruce didn't always want to go, but it was easier to fall back on his instincts to say no when it seemed impersonal. Tony had figured that out early on, being a genius and all. 

"So you wanna tag along and hang at HQ? Or just hang here and I can come back with the suit and then we can meet the others?" 

Bruce considered it thoughtfully. The team hadn't really sat down together in several weeks. They simply didn't see a lot of each other. So this would be nice. Or at least it would be good for Tony since he was working hard on making the Avengers more than an on-call initiative and an actual team; moments like this were hopeful.   

"I don't know if I want to hang out at SHIELD," he said honestly. "You know the junior agents still get antsy around me." They had good reason to do so, of course. 

"Fair point." Tony nodded. "Alright, I'll see you later then," Tony said with a wave and turned. He stopped before he got to the door and added with a smirk, "Don't change the face of Stark Industries while I'm gone, Doctor." 

Bruce smiled wryly at the other man, always one for quips and banter that amused him and he had to admit he enjoyed reciprocating. "Wouldn't dream of it. Yours'll do." Tony laughed at that before leaving.  

Bruce shook his head and wondered for the millionth time how he'd ever found himself in the position of being Tony Stark's friend, roommate, employee and even helper in redesigning Stark Tower. Tony Stark led a strange life, not that his own life had been normal – Hulk notwithstanding – and now somehow Bruce had gotten caught up in it. If he enjoyed it more than he thought he deserved, well, he kept it to himself. 

* 

Bruce sighed as he rode the private elevator up to the 99th floor where Tony's personal apartment resided – the one he currently shared with him. Day 125 was not a good day for math apparently; the figures were going nowhere and he wanted to be mentally capable of handling a get together meal with the others.  

Since he was currently staying put, he was quite literally counting down the days until his personal apartment was completed. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being Tony's literal roommate, but he figured the man would enjoy having his privacy back. Thankfully, Tony hadn't subjected him to any playboy tendencies – which was something he had honestly worried a little bit about being too awkward to deal with – especially since Tony had become a 'free man' a week after the battle; he didn't pry for details as it was none of his business, he only knew from how Tony and Pepper acted around one another that apparently whatever had happened had likely been amicable. 

Coming into their shared apartment, Bruce immediately made his way to the kitchen to make some tea. Tea and meditation would do him good. It would clear his mind so he could be fresh for later. Once the tea was finished, he grabbed the mug and sat it down on the coffee table in the large, open living area. He then grabbed the sofa pillow he'd made a habit of using for meditation, with Tony's permission of course.  

"Dr. Banner," JARVIS interrupted before he had even a chance to situate himself. "If I may, I wish to discuss a pressing matter with you." 

Bruce scrunched his face. The AI seemed quite, well, confused. "Is everything alright, JARVIS?" 

"I am not certain as I have come up against a situation that I have no set protocols for. Indeed, my protocols have given me pause on how to move forward." 

"Should you maybe have this conversation with Tony?" Bruce tilted his head questioningly even if he knew the program couldn't see him do so. He then took a sip of his tea as he awaited the response. 

"That is my dilemma, Dr. Banner. I do not know if my protocols demand or prevent me in approaching the matter with Mr. Stark." If the artificial voice had sounded confused before, he seemed downright distraught now. 

"Huh." Bruce set down his mug, accentuating his own confusion. "Well, I guess maybe start at the beginning and I'll see what I can do to help." It seemed his safest bet. Odds were slim of it being anything too Earth-shattering and whatever it was Tony wouldn't likely begrudge him making this call. 

"Yes, Dr. Banner. As you are already aware, I have been running a deep decryption on SHIELD's many databases." 

"I am aware." Bruce nodded, a thin smile on his face as he took another sip of tea.  

Tony had promised to clear JARVIS from SHIELD's system. If Fury had believed him and their techs couldn't recognize the program's continued existence – well, Bruce agreed that they had no one to blame but themselves. This was probably why everyone believed Tony would be a negative influence on him, he mused – as if he was above that kind of thing when staying one step ahead of the game had kept him alive far too often in recent years. 

"Well, I am especially tasked with finding details pertaining to Mr. Stark as well as the members of the Initiative." 

"Aware of that too, JARVIS." 

"Right, my apologies. As it happened, this morning my decryption came across a file of particular pertinence to Mr. Stark. I believe it would best help if I displayed it for you." 

"Alright, alright," Bruce agreed, a little reluctant to move. He did, however, to grab a nearby Starkpad. He flicked it on and then set it to the setting that projected the screen upward into a holographic display and then put on his previously discarded glasses. "I probably shouldn't be prying like this, but send me what you've got, JARV."  

"Yes, sir." 

Suddenly there were several documents on display, the contents of a single large file. Bruce's brow furrowed as he tried to take in the initial details. His eyebrows then shot up as the information sank in. Reading quickly through the write-ups, he felt his stomach grow queasy and heard a small rumble in the back of his mind. 

"Close it, JARVIS!" Bruce shouted suddenly and fell back on the couch.  

"As you can understand, Dr. Banner, I was not certain how to handle the situation. I do not know if this falls under my function to protect or inform Mr. Stark. My secondary precedence protocols are set to both yourself and Miss Potts or I would not have shared the information with you." 

Bruce took several steadying breaths, trying to parse through the information rationally and trying to hear the AI's explanation. Wait? He'd been given secondary precedence? _Probably not the time to think about that_. He had a much more serious issue at hand. 

*** 

"Honey, I'm home. You better be ready. I'm not waiting another hour for you to fix your hair," Tony gabbled as he came into the penthouse apartment. He found Bruce sitting in a meditative pose in the living room. "I much prefer it when I come in to you doing yoga, Mr. Pretzel. Seriously, you should not be that flexible for a man your age." 

Bruce's lips quirked telling Tony that he was listening. Finally, the man exhaled and opened his eyes, fading from green to brown in a way that always intrigued the engineer. "I could work on fixing my hair for two hours and it still wouldn't get me anywhere." Tony laughed, and pointedly ignored the urge he often got to run his fingers through the mop of curls on his friend's head. "Besides, of the two of us, aren't you the one with the meticulous grooming habits? How much product do you even use?"  Bruce narrowed his eyes at him.  

"Touché. But I'm a celebrity so it's a part of the job requirement." 

"Sure. So, how was the escort?" 

"Uneventful. No goons tried to break the guy out before we got there. He'll probably escape in a few weeks though. You know how it is." Tony clapped his hands together and looked around at nothing in particular. "So, the team's going to meet us at that one Indian place you love." 

Bruce lifted a curious eyebrow. "They wanted Indian?" 

"Eh. Steve wanted burgers. Clint wanted pizza. Natasha just wanted to stay out of it so didn't offer a suggestion. So I made an executive decision. I'm paying anyway." 

"So _you_ wanted Indian?" The other eyebrow went up and was joined by a smirk. 

"Hush. You know I like to indulge you. You deserve it." He kept his statements clipped. It was the only way he knew how to do honest sentiment without allowing room for mushy introspection. 

Bruce shook his head as he stood to his feet. "I still don't believe that, but thanks." 

Tony studied Bruce carefully as he took his mug across the room to the kitchen. The man usually wasn't this tense after meditating unless something had happened. Maybe a bad day in the lab? Or was the Hulk getting restless? Was he thinking about running back to the middle of nowhere like he said he might some day? Or had something happened while he'd been gone? 

"Tony?"  

Tony blinked to see Bruce was now studying him. "Uh. Sorry. Just wondering if you're okay, Bruce. You seem a little tense." 

Bruce tensed up further. "Oh, um, yeah. I'm a little tense. Had some math giving me hell this morning. You know how it is." He shrugged. 

Tony narrowed his eyes, not certain. "Yeah, I guess." He decided pushing the subject would only make matters worse. If Bruce didn't want to share, that was that. "So I'm thinking since the remodel's practically finished, we should let the team in on the plans tonight. What do you think? Too soon?"  

Tony was genuinely nervous. He felt strongly that The Avengers was a critical juncture in his life in more ways than one. He hadn't believed in anything this strongly since that day he announced to the world he was Iron Man. Perhaps it was his ego, but he felt like that had been a point of origin for this new path he was on and now the next phase of that journey was beginning and was maybe his entire purpose in life. He felt strongly that the other Avengers, and maybe others that would come along later, were also meant to be a part of this journey. 

There were days Tony couldn't help but feel like something had been missing until that fateful day Nick Fury had called him in. Now he had found it to some extent. He still felt a little like there was something else missing, but he was sure he was heading in the right direction at least.  

"You didn't hear a word of that, did you?" Bruce's voice cut through his thoughts.  

"Sorry." Bruce just smiled in amusement. He was probably used to this by now.  

"Reader's Digest version, I guess it's as good a time as any since we'll all be together minus Thor." 

"So, Bruce Banner seal of approval?" 

"Since when has that stopped you?" Bruce asked with a soft snort and then left, undoubtedly, to change.  

"You'd be surprised," Tony called after him. Bruce wouldn't believe it though. Nobody would. 

 *

Tony knew he was smiling smugly, but he felt pretty damn smug at the moment. Steve, Clint and even Natasha were staring at the holographic model, displayed from his phone in the middle of the table, with varying states of awe. Steve's was awe over the technology and modern feat of it in general, Clint was truly floored, and though she hid it well he could tell Natasha was impressed. He had already explained that he wanted it to be a place to really launch The Avengers as a team, but none of them had readily agreed to the plan just yet. 

"Twenty whole floors?" Steve asked in disbelief. "What would we even do with all that space?"  

"Oh no," Bruce groaned beside him. "Now you've done it. Here comes the virtual tour." 

"No need to be hurtful," Tony countered, though he wasn't truly offended. For some strange reason, Bruce tensed. Tony couldn't help but notice that he really hadn't relaxed at all and it was starting to concern him. 

"I wasn't trying to be hurtful," Bruce said, not defensively but in a reassuring tone. 

Tony furrowed his brow. "I know that. Honestly, I'm more hurt that you don't know when I'm teasing by now." 

"I… Uh…" 

"That's cute, can we get back to the tour," Natasha interrupted. "I'm actually interested in something you have to show off for once, Stark." 

"You made a pretty good show of being interested back in Malibu, Natalie," Tony said with a teasing leer. 

She rolled her eyes. "I've stabbed you in the neck before, Stark. I won't hesitate to do it again." 

"Okay, so tour," he said quickly because he honestly had no desire to push that envelope no matter how much of a thrill junkie he might be. "Floors 81 through 100 is what we're looking at here. Most of them are complete since some were already residential apartments to begin with and don't really need anything other than a little personalization and stronger floors put in." 

"Stronger floors?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Stark Tower already supposed to be the strongest skyscraper in the world?" 

"M-yes," Tony answered with a nod before draping his arm on Bruce's shoulder beside him. "But I have a good friend who would maybe feel a little bit better if we used adamantanium." 

"Good friend?" Steve was clearly confused. Tony managed to hold back an eye roll. He was certain he had been pretty obvious.  

"Adamantanium is the strongest known metal in the world," Bruce, polite as ever, explained. "He means me. Should there be an uncontrolled incident, it would be best that there's some form of protection between floors." 

"Exactly. So here we go boys and girl," Tony chirped, excitedly clapping his hands before moving one to begin manipulating the hologram. "81 will be a reception area for approved guests to the tower. Of course, they'll have to go through reception and security downstairs before making it that far. Levels 82 and 83 will be for training. It'll have all the good stuff you're hoping for and then some. 84 is—" 

"Don't say it," Bruce attempted feebly beside him. 

"The Green Floor," he said anyways, with a smirk. 

"We're not calling it that." 

"A floor all for the Hulk?" Clint reasoned and Tony had to admit he hadn't expected him to be the first to do so. 

"Yeah. Essentially a contingency floor. And maybe a floor to train with the Hulk or where Bruce can let off some steam." 

"Those are very soft maybes," Bruce replied, glowering a little at him.  

"Moving on. 85 is my workshop. Invitation only. 86 is Bruce's personal lab. Also invitation only." 

"This is starting to feel like a super secret science club that we're not invited to," Clint interrupted. And surprising Tony once again deduced, "Why do I get the feeling only you two will have invitations to those floors?"  

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but then shook his head. It was a losing battle so he ignored it and moved on. "87 is the shared lab which will include a safe room for weapons testing. So you can thank me now, bird boy by stopping with the crass insinuations about super secret science clubs that, by the way definitely do exist and you're not invited to be a part of." 

"Tony, I'm pretty sure nobody ever wants to be invited to that club," Bruce pointed out.  

Tony smiled and shook his head at him. "That's what they want us to think, Bruce. So 88 is the medical bay. Let's hope that's not needed. 89 is the Assembly room for boring team meetings. Fury's input. Now for the fun stuff. 90 and 91 are the common floors. 90 will have all the fun stuff you definitely wanted as a kid, pool tables and bowling and a bar. That kind of thing." 

"I didn't want that as a kid," Steve interjected. 

"Neither did I," Natasha agreed. 

"I did so hell yeah," Clint countered. 

"91 will house a common kitchen, lounge and media area. 92 will be sectioned off into guest barracks for—" 

"Guests?" Natasha asked with a lilt.  

"I was going to say non-permanent fixtures to the team should there be any," Tony defended himself. "That floor will be divided into rooms and won't be full apartments, hence the potential need for a common kitchen." 

"Don't let him fool you. He's really looking forward to an awkward Thanksgiving Dinner with all of us," Bruce teased.  

Tony fixed him with a pout. "I told you that in confidence." Bruce mimicked his pout.  

"I'm going to pass if you two are like this all the time," Clint said, holding up his hands as he did.  

Tony ignored him again. "Floors 93 through 99 are for the team. Personal apartments," he explained as he moved through them one at a time. "I guess you can fight each other for floors 94 through 96. I already designated 93 to Thor since I'm giving him a larger terrace." 

"I thought you were good at math, Stark," Natasha said with a raised eyebrow. "There's 6 of us, but you've mentioned 7 floors." 

"Oh that. Well, her name's still on the lease and she still needs a place to stay when she's doing business in New York so Pepper gets 97. So that leaves Bruce on 98 and me on 99, of course. I mean, I already live there so I'm not moving out. 100 is the penthouse lounge for additional entertaining as needed and is connected to my hall of suits and the hangar for the Quinjet. Any questions?" 

This was the part where Tony's smug feeling turned into something annoyingly less reassured. He had put so much into this already that he hated the possibility of seeing it all be for nothing.  

"I'm pretty darn impressed," Steve was the first to say anything. "I like the idea." He shrugged. 

"That's the spirit, Cap." Tony smiled genuinely at that response. 

"Beats SHIELD. As long as Fury approves, I'm game," Clint said next. 

Natasha looked at the hologram in a way that made Tony think she was wary of it. "It seems… sentimental." She looked at him then. He wanted to scoff, but maybe he was fooling himself if it wasn't a little on the sentimental side. Creating a team, giving them a place to settle, grow together. It was definitely not his previous M.O. "It's not smart to mix business with pleasure." She gave him a calculating look that made him uncomfortable, but said nothing more. 

"Well, it's your choice." He decided to leave it at that. 


	2. Chapter 2

"I think tonight went pretty well, don't you?" Tony asked as he sat down beside Bruce on the couch.

Bruce looked at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the television. It _had_ gone well, but Bruce was beginning to lose his control. He was angry, very, very angry. And confused. He didn't know what he should do, but he couldn't keep the secret from Tony.

"You don't agree?" Tony asked then when Bruce didn't answer.

He sighed. "Tony, I think we need to talk."

Tony sat up straight so quickly that it took him by surprise. "About what? Damn it, Banner if this is about running out on this now."

"I'm not…" He sighed again. He almost hated that Tony's first conclusion was that he would run off, but maybe he had enough reasons to think that might be the case. Honestly, they'd gotten close, but sometimes he couldn't quite understand why Tony was so insistent he stick around. Bruce didn't think he was anything special, and really he was a liability. Then again, he also had a pretty good idea of how lonely Tony really was beneath all the bravado. It was a feeling he could relate to so it wasn't hard to miss. "That's not it. It's… It's worse than that."

"How bad are we talking?" Tony looked at him skeptically.

"You might want to go pour yourself a few drinks bad," he replied and saw the surprise that washed over the engineer. Tony certainly knew him well enough by now that if _he_ was suggesting a stiff drink then there was cause for concern.

"Bruce… What's going on here?"

Bruce ran his fingers through his hair, trying to find the words necessary to explain it. "When was the last time you slept with somebody other than Pepper?" His eyes widened. That was the absolute worst way to start this conversation. Tony's eyes were wide as well. "No… God, no. That's not… I didn't mean it like…"

"Okay, I'm going to believe you because that was the most straight-faced proposition I've ever gotten," Tony said, shoulders shaking as he laughed. Bruce suddenly wished he was anywhere else. "Look, I don't know why you want to know, but I haven't slept with anyone besides Pepper since Afghanistan."

"What?" Bruce was further taken off guard.

"Uh, yeah. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to sleep with a complete stranger after you've had your life line ripped from your chest." He banged on it slightly. "Not much of a playboy these days."

"Okay and that was…" He tried to get his bearings and back to the topic at hand. "That happened in 2008?" Tony nodded, looking as uncertain as Bruce felt. "And before that, it was…" He tried not to feel a little uneasy by the discussion of Tony's previous lifestyle, but he did. "It was a whole lot of different people right? Just an endless stream of women?"

"And men, yes. Your point here, Bruce?" Bruce's brain stuttered again. Tony was so casual about it. He'd honestly not even assumed Tony Stark was a playboy with women _and_ men. Then again, maybe he should have, but that was something to deliberate at a later date.

"And I'm assuming it was always consensual and safe?" Tony nodded with a look that said _obviously_. Bruce breathed in deeply before continuing. "JARVIS came across a file in the SHIELD database. Highly sensitive, Level 8 minimum clearance, and it pertains to you."

He waited for that to sink in. Waited for Tony to indicate he was ready to hear more.

"JARVIS wasn't sure if he should tell you and elected to use his secondary preference protocol to run the file by me instead. I'm sorry for that in advance."

"I think you're being a little dramatic," Tony said, but Bruce knew that he just didn't know any better yet. "I wouldn't have given you secondary preference if I didn't trust you."

Bruce licked his very dry lips as he debated how to proceed. "Maybe you should have JARVIS display the file instead of hearing it from me."

"Okay… Enlighten me, J," Tony said, reaching for the StarkPad that Bruce had used earlier.

"I'm very sorry in advance, sir."

The files appeared. Bruce closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Jeez, this must be bad. Or else you two are being drama que—" The words died a strangled death in Tony's throat and Bruce's eyes snapped open. He turned to see Tony visibly shaken, head moving in rejection of the details on the screens and eyes twitching. "N…Not… That's not…"

Bruce knew the signs of an oncoming panic attack when he saw them and he squashed down his own distress for his friend as best as possible to help. "Tony. Tony, look at me." Tony turned his head very slowly, eyes distant and confused as he met Bruce's. He was still shaking his head. "Tony, it's okay. You're going to be okay. I know it's… It's horrible. And unexpected. Just take a deep breath. Take a deep breath with me." Tony did, but then tried to look back at the screen. "Nope, eyes on me right now," Bruce instructed firmly enough to get his attention.

"It's not possible," Tony croaked after a few more deep breaths. "That can't be…"

"I don't know, Tony. I don't know. But SHIELD seems to think it is. Are you okay?"

Then Tony's face turned into a scowl. "No, I'm not okay! Of course I'm not fucking okay! How the hell am I supposed to be okay if that's true?" He shouted, pointing at the screens.

"Tony, you need to calm down," Bruce warned. "There's no threat here," he said both to Tony and to the monster inside him that was beginning to stir in discomfort. "Nobody's threatened. Tony…"

Tony's face blanched then and he sputtered out a few more breaths. "I'm… You should probably… I might explode again. I need a few drinks. I need to just…"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be alone right now," Bruce countered, although he knew Tony was probably right. He wasn't the right person to help him through this.

"And I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be here, Bruce," Tony replied stubbornly. "You've been tense about this all day haven't you?"

"Yes," he admitted.

"Then I'm not going to sit here and cause an incident for you. Just… JARVIS will alert you if I need you. I just need some time."

Bruce nodded in concession. "Yeah, okay. I'll just… I'll be in my room."

*

Bruce sat crossed-leg in his bed, trying to regain his control. Tony would need him sooner or later. Tony would need him to remain calm. He didn't often reach out to the Other Guy in order to communicate with him, but there were exceptions. This was one of them.

It was always a strange occurrence when he did and it wasn't something he liked to tell others about. If anyone was under the impression he could actually communicate with the monster on a regular basis they'd try and figure out how to use that against him too. They wouldn't see it as him being able to control the beast; they would see it as him being able to wield the beast to what they wanted.

The fact was, however, he couldn't communicate regularly as far as he was aware. He wasn't even sure he could do so at all without going as far into his mind as humanly possible, in a trance like state. He wasn't sure if any of his efforts to breathe deeply and pleas for him to go back to sleep were even effective otherwise – which was why he didn't really trust the Other Guy.

Also, communicating this way wasn't exactly fun. It was like dwelling in a blank space in his mind. It was eerily dissociative and tinted green. It felt a little like a bad trip.

 _I need you to calm down._ He said once he was sure he was far enough inside of himself for the Other Guy to hear him.

 _Nice Stark is scared._ He couldn't see the Hulk physically, but he could sense him all around him, in the green. When the Other Guy spoke, it felt like being on a ship in a storm – a sense of rocking up and down, unbalanced.

_Yes, he's scared. But he's not a threat to us._

_Hulk smash. Hulk fix._

_NO!_ His voice rumbled as if the panic was palpable and interspersed with the green all around him, thickening it. _You can't smash him. Please, don't…_

 _Stupid Banner. Hulk not smash Nice Stark. Stark is friend. Stark like Hulk. Stark like Stupid Banner._ Bruce sighed and the green lessened slightly.

_Yes, thank you for that observation. As long as you don't smash him. And we have first names you know._

_Hulk not smash Tony. Banner still stupid._

_Fine. Banner still stupid. And Hulk still not fix this. You have to let Tony handle it. You have to let me—_

_Banner like Tony._ Bruce wasn't sure if he was scowling, but he felt like he was.

_That's not the conversation we're having right now._

_Still true._

_Yes, Tony's my friend. I like Tony. And that's why I need to be there for him without you showing up to fix things._

_Stupid Banner._

_You can say that all you want, but I need you to do this for, well, for Tony if not for me._ There was a grumble in the back of his mind that Bruce had come to recognize as disgruntled acquiescence, much like a huffy child. _Thank you._

_Banner still like Nice Stark._

When Bruce opened his eyes again, he was slightly startled to see said nice man standing just inside his doorway.

"Are you okay?" he asked first when Tony didn't say anything.

"No," Tony answered gruffly and moved into the room.

Bruce decided to rephrase the question. "Do you think you'll _be_ okay?"

Tony sat down on the edge of the bed. "All this fucking time," he said, shaking his head. "All this time, Bruce. Fury deliberately kept that from me."

"Yeah, can't say I'm feeling very trusting of his promises to keep me safe, I can say that much," he muttered honestly.

Tony's eyes widened and he looked at Bruce. Then his face was drawn up in determination. "Fuck him. I'll keep you safe."

Bruce felt his heart clench and pointedly ignored the derisive rumble of laughter somewhere in the recesses of his mind. "This isn't about me right now," he said as evenly as he could manage. "This is about you."

Tony opened his mouth and looked as though he had something to say to that but then decided better of it. When he did speak he said, "I'm never trusting SHIELD again. If we do this Avengers thing, it's without SHIELD. But I don't even know if I can trust Barton and Romanoff after this. And how long before they sink their teeth into Rogers?"

"You know he wouldn't," Bruce tried to reason. He couldn't say he didn't agree where Clint and Natasha were concerned though.

"I _don't_ know that. I knew better than to trust Fury after the weapons fiasco, but I did. Why shouldn't Captain 'We Have Orders'," he air quoted in derisive manner, "fall in line?"

Bruce couldn't answer that. It, of course, was always a possibility. After the bombshell that had been dropped in Tony's lap, anything seemed a possibility. "Hey, the other thing aside, I want to know if _you're_ okay. You were…"

"I know," Tony practically growled, but then deflated again. "I know. I don't want to think about that. It's not important right now. It doesn't matter."

"Well, it does, but—"

"Hm-mm. No. No, Bruce," Tony said in a defiant tone as he stood to his feet and turned to look at him. Bruce furrowed his brow, trying to guess what could possibly be going through the other man's mind. "The only thing that matters is getting my fucking children."

***

"Tony, what are you going to do?" Bruce's worried voice trailed behind him as he stormed back into the living area. "Tony, seriously, be reasonable—"

Tony stopped sharply in place and turned on his heel. "Reasonable?" To Bruce's credit, he didn't look judgmental, just concerned. "Those are my kids, Bruce!" He pointed to where the holographic screens were still up. "I don't care _how_ they got here or what they are, they're mine. And I think I have a damn right to take them back from SHIELD's grubby hands. So that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Bruce blinked several times, looking a little flustered. He raised a finger and opened his mouth to say something, but dropped the one and closed the other before anything came out.

"What?" Tony furrowed his brow.

"Uh… I just…" He cleared his throat. "Just didn't peg you as the… uh… papa bear type," he finished sheepishly.

Tony's expression turned incredulous. He was a little bit surprised by that. Just because he hadn't had a wonderful childhood and would probably be a shit father didn't mean he didn't have some protector instincts and he was a little hurt that Bruce seemed to think otherwise.

"Seriously? You think just because I've never seen them I shouldn't bothe—"

"No," Bruce interjected, surprising him again. "That's not… I meant…" Bruce looked down then and realization dawned on Tony as he studied the man more carefully.

In spite of everything a lopsided grin formed on his face. "Really? That does it for you? The whole protective parent thing?"

Bruce rolled his lips and shrugged minutely. He then looked back up. "But more importantly, I'm not saying you shouldn't bother. I agree. If they're your kids like the SHIELD DNA test says, then I think you should have a say in what's happening to them. But—"

"But what?"

"Calm down and listen, will you?" He glowered and Tony had to admit it was pretty persuasive. Bruce relaxed and sighed. "I'm just saying that this is a very big thing. It's not the kind of thing you just go crashing head first into no matter how much you like doing that sort of thing. They're kids. And there's a legal system. You can't just go abduct two kids from a SHIELD orphanage and expect it to be okay because a file you hacked into says they're yours. That's what you were planning to do, right?" Bruce then fixed him with a knowing look.

Tony's mouth opened and then closed again. He looked back at the holographic screen, re-reading one of the more conclusive files again.

> **Name(s):** Pietro and Wanda Maximoff  
>  **Date of Birth:** 2004
> 
> **Status:** Living  
>  **Current Location:** [Redacted]  
>  **Mother:** Marya Maximoff (Deceased)  
>  **Father:** Tony Stark (Living)
> 
> **SHIELD Notes:** Taken into custody during HYDRA base infiltration on [Date Redacted] 2009. HYDRA database files indicate twins were subjected to experiments under Baron Von Strucker's PROJECT MIRACLE. Further SHIELD analysis indicates genetic mutation that has led to super human abilities. Twins moved to SHIELD orphanage for safe keeping and further monitoring. HYDRA files name mother as former HYDRA Scientist Marya Maximoff, selected for breeding based on high IQ. Anthony Stark named as biological father, by means of [Sensitive Information Redacted], selected for breeding based on high IQ. DNA testing and match confirms Tony Stark as father.

"Tony?"

Tony looked back to see Bruce was staring at him in concern again. The intensity in those brown eyes grounded him and he took a deep breath.

"JARVIS, call Pepper. Tell her we have a very serious legal problem on our hands."

"How do you think she'll react?" Bruce asked him as he moved to sit on the couch, curling his legs up under him and grabbing the pillow he usually used to meditate. 

Tony studied him for a moment, taking in the way he seemed to be trying to ground himself and then it dawned on him. "You're okay to stick around?" He came around to the front of the couch and looked down at him.

His eyes were closed, but then he smirked slightly and opened them. "You think I'll let you face Pepper alone on this? What kind of friend do you think I am?"

Tony felt relieved and in spite of everything he couldn't help but smile at that. "The very best," he answered the rhetorical question.

"Not to interrupt," Pepper interrupted just the same, "but what's this about a legal problem that Bruce here isn't going to let you face me alone on? You know that those words, in that combination has me more than a little worried."

Tony sighed and spared one more glance at Bruce before gesturing for Pepper to come over. He sat down in the middle of the couch and Pepper very slowly came over to sit in the empty space beside him, studying them both the entire time.

"Everything's up there on the screen," Tony said with a long exhale of breath at the end.

Pepper scrunched her brow, but then slowly turned to look at the open files. Not being a speed reader like himself and Bruce, it took her a few moments to parse through, and likely process, what she was reading, but when it finally sank in a gasp of, "Oh my god" was her predictable response.

"Oh my god," Pepper then continued over and over as she read over all of the information that there was, zooming in on some files here and there and leaning forward like if she studied it harder it would be untrue. Or maybe she was parsing it now from her CEO mind. Either way Tony was beginning to get a little bit tired of her muttering "Oh my god." Then again he probably couldn't say anything since every so often the same string of expletives ran through his mind as he read and re-read until all of the files were committed to memory. "I don't even know where to begin…" She finally said something new only for her voice to trail. "Are… Are you okay?"

Tony hung his head and then turned it to his right to field the question to Bruce. "He's definitely not okay," Bruce said, understanding his intent. "He's more upset that SHIELD is keeping his kids from him than the actual knowledge that he was…" Bruce took a deep breath and to his left, Pepper didn't seem any more comfortable with the implications of the files.

"Okay, look. I'm upset about it. I can't say I'm not. But I was a pretty easy target since I'm sure it didn't take much coaxing to get me into a bed."

"That doesn't make it consensual," Bruce challenged and Tony realized he was being glared at by two sets of equally sharp eyes. "The HYDRA file says she drugged you just enough, then drugged you further so she could collect your sperm. There's not a damn thing that makes this your fault. You were selected for breeding, Tony. That's… I'm extremely angry about it."

Tony blinked. He looked Bruce over and tightened his brow slightly. "You're not turning green."

"And I won't, don't worry. The Other Guy understands this isn't his battle. Doesn't make us less angry," he replied.

"I'm beginning to think you care, Dr. Banner," Tony said, unable to resist. Then he sighed. "I know it's awful.  I'm really, really trying not to think about it. But right now I only care about what we can do about Pietro and Wanda." He glanced up at the two photos on one screen, a young boy and a young girl. She had dark hair like his own and he had hair colored a much lighter shade of brown. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see a small, but reassuring smile on Bruce's face.

"Well, what we can do is get legal on this obviously," Pepper said after a minute. "We'll have our team look into the facility, make sure we have a leg to stand on before we bring any legal papers against SHIELD. Obviously we'll look into a paternity test just to be sure-"

"Why would they lie?" Tony countered. "Of all the people to give kids erroneously. And then to keep it from me? What's the gain there?"

"I understand that it seems very likely they are yours, Tony," she said calmly, "but it's just standard procedure." Then she furrowed her brow. "What do you mean they kept it from you? How did you get this information?"

"How does he usually get information?" Bruce asked her with a smirk and raised brow.

"Oh my god, Tony," she said with a groan. "Seriously? Now there's an issue of how you hacked their system to obtain the information." She sighed long and hard, her head falling back slightly before she became professional again. "Alright, well, that might hurt us, but our team's the best. I'm sure they can figure it out. But…" Here Pepper bit her lips and looked at the screens before turning her head to give Tony a very serious look. "They'll need to know your intent. Do you just want them away from SHIELD and placed in a different home? Or are you looking for rights to provide for their care and have first say in what happens to them? What is it we're trying to do here?"

"I want them," Tony answered, giving it only a moment's thought to make sure it was still the right decision. "I want full custody. They're my children."

Her eyes blinked wide open, gaping at him. He knew she would react this way, but he didn't particularly care. His mind was made up. He wasn't going to make the same choices his father did with him. He wasn't going to ignore the fact that he had children.

"Tony, you don't know what you're asking," she said. Then scary CEO mode was engaged and she began to berate him harshly. "Full custody? Are you crazy? You are not fit to take care of two 8 year-old children. You can barely take care of yourself! What's your social security number, hmm? Have you learned it yet? Because that's the kind of thing you'll need to remember, and then some. You're not married, you're a superhero in your spare time, you have a notorious past, and these children are special on top of it. Are you sure SHIELD isn't best able to take care of them? Look, having rights to be their father and visit them and all that is one thing, but actually bringing them into your own care is another entirely."

Tony was well aware that he was scowling the entire time. He was also well aware that Bruce's hand was still on his shoulder, squeezing every now and then to help him remain calm. He looked over at the physicist for a moment and then looked back at the picture of his children. Finally he huffed and stood to his feet.

"I want my damn kids. That's my intent. Tell legal to do what they can to make it happen because SHIELD isn't going to keep them for their own purposes and no family is going to want to take them if they have powers either. But I don't care if they were normal. I'd still say the same thing."

He pointedly ignored the disapproving frown on Pepper's face and left for his workshop.

*

Tony was busy shooting at the same target with his gauntlet over and over, trying to clear his mind. He didn't care if everyone thought he was crazy. Those kids were his and every instinct he had told him that they needed him.

Maybe he wasn't the best fit, but he was sure he could be better for them than being subject to whatever brainwashing tactics SHIELD was likely up to. He had a pretty good feeling that SHIELD would just try to ensure they grew up to play on their team and do their bidding and, hey, sure, saving the world is great, but that was no way to live 24/7. He could see that in the way Steve, Natasha, and Clint seemed barely unsure of how to do anything else. At least Steve had had a fairly normal childhood, but what if something happened and his children got caught up on the wrong side like Clint or Natasha had in the past?

They at least needed to know they had somebody watching out for them. Hell, after years of experiments maybe they were damaged. There were so many unknowns and it made him angry. And then that anger made him more determined to fix this.

"Don't tell me you're here to say Pepper is right," he said, knowing Bruce had come into the workshop.

"Then I won't. I mean, she has valid points. You probably aren't cut out to take that big of a leap. But I also think you'd figure it out." Tony's face softened at the unexpected encouragement and he turned to look at the other man. "I think maybe we should go to Fury directly. I… mean you should. I just meant…" He shook his head. Tony had to admit he found it endearing. He didn't mind Bruce implicating himself into the situation. "While Pepper is figuring it out from a legal standpoint, I think you should also give Fury a chance to make a move. Your M.O. is to play your clout right? And then if you don't get what you want, you strike, yeah?" Tony nodded, a smile forming on his face. "Okay, so then do that. Maybe you can even reach an agreement before this gets too messy."

Tony nodded as he listened and then sighed when Bruce finished his point. "You think I can do this?" He looked at him intently.

Bruce smiled thinly. "I think you at least deserve a chance to find out." It was all Tony needed to hear. "So… I might have… had another reason for coming down here." Tony furrowed his brow as Bruce moved closer. "I had JARVIS locate the orphanage and tap into the security feed. Just the common room though, nothing… Okay, yeah it's still creepy, not to mention illegal, but…"

Tony's eyes widened. "Seriously?" Bruce gave him a sheepish shrug and Tony couldn't control his urge to hug him so he did.

"Um," Bruce pulled back awkwardly. "You're welcome? So JARVIS has pulled out some footage of just them in case you want to—"

"JARVIS," Tony said before Bruce could finish and soon one of his holographic screens lit up with a video of Wanda sitting alone in a beanbag chair reading a book. Suddenly she looked up and then around. A devious smile spread across her face and then she threw her hand out. Pietro appeared seemingly out of nowhere as he ran into the force field she had projected in his path.

"You know," Bruce said after they watched a few more clips JARVIS had pulled from the feed, "it's like I can tell they're your kids already."

Tony blinked and twisted his head to look at the man standing beside him. "Yeah? How's that?"

"He can't seem to slow down and she seems cunning and able to manipulate her surroundings," Bruce answered. "It's like they're both sides of you."

Tony's eyes widened and he looked back up at the screen. He had never expected to feel the warm feeling in his chest over that kind of comment, but the feeling was there now just the same. Without thinking he threw an arm around Bruce's shoulders and gave him an eager sideways hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. creepystalkerdad!Tony -with Bruce's help- is all on my cousin. She said, "What if Tony then being Tony hacks the orphanage feed just so he can see them because he can't help himself and like it's creepy in a cute way?" I said, "Emphasis on creepy." Then she begged and pointed out that there's all kinds of creepy and illegal stuff in comics thus I caved and made it so Bruce is the surprise perpetrator and cringes at his lack of ethics (aka I pretty much self-inserted, sorry).  
> 2\. I've tried to keep the dub/noncon on the light side because I know it can be a trigger. Obviously I realize the logic behind how Tony is taken advantage of is comic book logic, seeing as she would have to collect the sperm in a pretty specific scientific way while he was passed out, but yeah... All that said, it's not meant to be handwavy and I hope that Bruce's commentary reflects that even if Tony doesn't want to deal with it.  
> 3\. Cousin wanted Bruce to be able to talk to Hulk via meditation. Timeline-wise when I started writing this it was my first true foray into that (save for experimenting with it in a few oneshots so I could implement it in this fic) so it may be rough. Also, we agreed on adorable/protective/smarter than Bruce thinks Hulk.  
> 4\. I hope the sarcastic voice I imagine Bruce uses with Hulk is truly felt by the reader.


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce followed a few steps behind as Tony strode through SHIELD HQ like he owned the place. Bruce mused that Tony probably thought he could if he waved enough money around. He was a little less certain of that though; SHIELD didn't seem like the kind of establishment to sell out for money unless it firmly protected whatever strange moral code they stood for.

Bruce couldn't stride through HQ no matter how hard he tried. He had good reason to tiptoe. He had started to trust that SHIELD agents didn't equate military in the sense that he'd always been wary of, but now he wasn't so sure again. He also didn't particularly appreciate the equally wary looks that agents sent him when they thought he wasn't looking.

He wouldn't be there at all if not for Tony's sake. He wanted to be there for him, offer him support. Or maybe, if he were being honest, he was there to stop Tony from doing anything irrational should it come to that. And given Tony's state of mind when he'd found out the day before, it definitely could come to that.

"I don't recall calling you in for a consultation, Mr. Stark," Fury clipped when they came into his large office. Fury looked up and then narrowed his eye on Bruce. "And I know I didn't ask for Dr. Banner."

"Good," Tony said before he could respond. "Because you can't afford him."

Bruce wasn't sure how to take that so he just pursed his lips and looked at a random location on the other side of the room, avoiding eye contact with the Director.

"Why are you here?" Fury asked almost wearily. Bruce tried to stifle a laugh. Tony certainly could be trying on even the most patient of souls. He knew that first hand.

"Why, Fury. I'm hurt you didn't see this coming," Tony began theatrically. Yes, Tony was a _very_ trying person sometimes. "I'm here to confess my undying love."

"You better be talking about your undying love for Banner because if you mean me I can drop him with a tranq and then drop you with my .45 before you even blink, Stark," Fury said coolly and if not for the offhanded comment about Tony confessing undying love to him overwhelming his senses a little, Bruce knew he probably would have bolted for the door and let Tony handle it without him. Or else just let the Hulk out right then and there to prevent either shot from being fired. "I repeat, why are you here?'

"I do have a confession," Tony replied casually, as if he hadn't just had his life threatened over a meaningless flirtation. But Bruce knew better. He knew Tony was seething underneath. "JARVIS is still in your system."

Fury looked genuinely surprised and, Bruce mused, itching for that gun more than before. "What the fuck do you mean? Our techs—"

"Are shit," Tony interjected breezily. "Seriously, for an agency that's supposed to be the best at protecting the people with a host of knowledge in your storehouse, you have ridiculously easy to find back doors. I'm almost wondering how HYDRA hasn't infiltrated this disaster already."

Bruce knew that Tony didn't miss the telling blink that Fury gave, the stutter at the unexpected revelation of what they both knew. "HYDRA was taken down before you were even born, Stark," Fury lied anyway.

Tony glanced at him so Bruce moved closer to the other man. Tony needed him. He needed grounding before this next part. Bruce was willing to give him what he could.

"That's funny," Tony said with a tilt of his head, looking back to Fury. "So I _wasn't_ selected by HYDRA based on my IQ and salacious personality to produce offspring for nefarious experimentation?" Tony then placed a hand on Bruce's upper back, looking for physical grounding Bruce suspected, and looked at him. "Did we read that wrong, Bruce?"

Bruce's lips quirked in spite of everything. "You know, maybe. My reading comprehension is abysmal really."

They both looked at Fury then; the Director was practically… furious. He groaned internally because clearly Tony had infiltrated his brain with unnecessary puns.

"How the hell do you—"

"What part of still in your system don't you understand?" Tony's smile became shark-like. "Or did you not believe me? Because, unlike you, I actually tell the truth. I don't need to hide behind deception to get what I want. And right now what I want is you to tell me just when the fuck you were going let me in on the little secret of my having been an unknowing sperm donor." The smile faded into a scowl so seamlessly that it would almost be concerning. Bruce was aware that Tony could be ruthless if he wanted to be.

Fury stood. "The answer is never," he said pointedly.

"Huh. Sounds pretty illegal," Tony replied, expression still intensely dissatisfied. "I'm pretty sure it is. Or maybe just unethical. But I'll let you know when my legal team gets finished on that. By the way, also pretty sure that could get CPS involved along with an investigation of whatever mock orphanage you have them set up in."

Fury absolutely glowered and straightened his back. Bruce was equally aware that Fury could be ruthless if he wanted to be. Suddenly he felt like a child caught in the middle of a power struggle that threatened to turn violent at any moment and he really didn't need that connotation because of the horrible memories it dredged up. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths.

"Look, Stark, I don't know what game you're playing here, but that information was withheld after very serious deliberation. You had no recollection of the event as far as we could tell. If the kids were normal, maybe we would have informed you, but they're not. Let's not pretend that they're your children, Stark. You were an unwilling sperm donor as you said. Those kids are…" He hitched a shoulder. "They're-"

Bruce felt himself fly off the handle. "I swear if you say a single word that even implies monster, freak, or abnormal this will not end well for you," he all but growled as he moved closer to the desk and gave Fury a challenging look.

"You heard him." Tony was suddenly beside him again, he wasn't sure if he had moved back or if Tony had moved forward, and the engineer's hand was on his back once more. He nearly shuddered however when that hand moved slowly downward until it rested on the small of his back instead, and his anger dissipated into a manageable level. "Those kids are mine. End of story. And therefore I have a right to know everything that you aren't telling me. And if you don't believe me, you can just wait and hear it from my lawyers."

"I don't know where you got it in your head that you have some right to those kids just because they have your DNA, Stark," Fury continued to argue, "but are you willing to endanger the lives of the other children that live there? Some are under protection not because they're super human, but because their parents are or their parents were agents, and not always the good kind. There's no other safe place for them and whether you think so or not, we do our damnedest to make sure they have good lives."

Bruce sighed, feeling some of his senses return. He hated to admit Fury had a point, but Tony had a point as well and he was still going to help him with this.

"With all due respect and I hope you know I'm using that term loosely," he started, receiving a withering look from the Director, "but Tony actually does have a right to try and reach out to those kids now that he knows about them if he wants to exercise that right. He didn't exactly have a chance to refuse before and maybe he would have then, but now you're between a rock and a hard place. I agree with you that a hasty investigation that could ruin the lives of other children is not a viable solution and I'm willing to assume you don't want legal systems poking around SHIELD secrets. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt for now that you made what you thought was the right call and that they're living happy enough lives." Fury narrowed his eye. "But you still lied and withheld information about a man's assault and the resulting children while asking said man to trust you and put his life on the line for your organization. So, really, Director, I don't think you're in any position other than to negotiate."

He took a deep breath, but held Fury's gaze, only blinking once in surprise when Tony's hand ghosted dangerously lower before dropping. He made himself ignore it since now wasn't the time to be analyzing Tony's inclination to be tactile.

"And what exactly are these negotiations?" Fury asked in exasperation.

Tony crossed his arms. "Let's start with, I want to meet them. I want them to know they have a father who is willing to meet them. Then from there it's probably up to them if they want anything to do with me. If they do, I want them moved to the tower when it's finished. I want temporary custody until we can decide what's in their best interest." Tony paused and Bruce didn't even realize he'd been holding his own breath as Tony gave his speech. "But let's be clear right here and now. If it works out, I have every intention of fighting for full custody. And at the very least, I will fight for the right to have a say in what does happen to them from here on out. This isn't going to go away."

Fury leaned forward. "You might feel differently when you're tasked with the responsibility of two kids who also have powers the like of which you have yet to come up against," he drawled, clipping the words he deemed necessary in order to make his point clear.

"All the more reason for me to be involved and for you to want me to get involved," Tony replied, leaning forward in counter challenge. "Or need I remind you of the kind of person I used to be because my father was cold and distant and raised me to be the same way?"

Bruce smiled thinly at the way Fury immediately backed away. He knew too well the signs of when a man had lost a power struggle and Fury just had, at least for the time being.

"Alright," Fury conceded without so much as blinking, which Bruce found a little odd. He didn't sigh or pause to deliberate. "Step one, they have to be willing to meet with you. They're in between handlers right now, but I'll have the interim agent assigned to protect them speak with them and let them know what's going on. But, Stark, that means this agent will find out where before that information was classified only to a select few Level 8 and higher agents and the children's handler."

"Fine, whatever," Tony waved his hand as he straightened back up finally.

"I'll have Agent Hill send you their full files, assuming you haven't already found them," he groused. "But I have to warn you, you won't like everything there is in those files. I would suggest certain parties not be present if and when you finally peruse them." Bruce furrowed his brow in concern when Fury gave him a deliberate glance and then he looked at Tony uncertainly. "Now, Stark, call off your legal hounds, got it?"

"I've already told Pepper to wait for my signal so we're good here," Tony said breezily and they both turned to leave. "Oh, by the way," Tony turned back, but Bruce didn't bother. "This isn't the only battle I'm willing to fight. If it turns out there are other things you're keeping secret," he heard Tony pause, "I will give you so much hell you'll wish I was the Merchant of Death again because you haven't even seen what I'm capable of."

Bruce shuddered and wondered if there was anything Fury could possibly hide that would make Tony actually follow through with that kind of threat. Personally, he didn't really ever want to find out.

"That actually went we—" Bruce started once they were in the corridor that led to Fury's office, but he stopped short when Tony reached for his wrist. "What?" He looked at him in confusion.

"Would you have an incident if I kissed you?" Tony stared him intently in the eyes. "Like, right now?"

Bruce's breath hitched and his throat went dry. "Uh… No, but wh—"

Tony cut his question off with eager lips and Bruce couldn't stop himself from returning the kiss. He'd wanted this, knew it was why he stayed, but he ignored it with all of his years of practiced self-denial. Now he wasn't sure if he could anymore, not with the billionaire claiming his mouth like it had always been his for the taking. He would laugh at how Tony was just as good at this as he was striding into a room, if not for the fact that he needed air in his lungs to do so.

"Why?" He asked in short breaths when they did pull apart.

"So it turns out maybe the whole papa bear thing does it for me too. Definitely didn't know that until you stood up for them in there," Tony answered, still close and studying his face through his long lashes.

Bruce felt his stomach fall. So it was just a means to an end, a turn-on that the non-reputable Tony Stark couldn't help but gratify?

"I think there's probably a Freudian term for what we have," he said as evenly as he could.

Tony barked out a soft laugh. "You mean 'sexually aroused when someone acts like the opposite of a shitty father' is a Freudian term?"

"I don't know. I'm not that kind of doctor," Bruce answered with a shrug and dry laugh, still trying to hide his disappointment. "So, uh, now that you've got that out of your system…" He continued to reach for humor, but Tony responded by giving him a small scowl.

"What? It's not even close to out of my system. What makes you think it's out of my system?"

Bruce sighed and tried to back away. "Look, Tony, let's not do this okay?"

Tony looked legitimately taken back and Bruce had to wonder what the reason might be.

"Oh. Right. Of course. I just…" Tony studied him and then nodded. "Okay."

Tony gave in easily enough. Any moment of hope that maybe Tony was truly interested in the same thing Bruce was and he'd just misunderstood was dashed again. At least Tony respected their friendship enough not to push for something Bruce didn't want, he told himself.

*

_Banner start talking more?_

_Would you like that?_

Bruce had the distinct sensation that the Hulk would shrug if he could.

_Hulk get bored._

_I see. Well, we're talking now. We'll see how it goes from here._

_Hulk right. Hulk always right._

_That's not true. Smashing as a first instinct is decidedly wrong._

_Banner like Nice Tony._

_Oh. That. Yes, you were right about that. Of course, I knew that already so you weren't saying anything I didn't know. But I don't think Tony likes Banner the same way, Hulk._

_Stupid Banner._

_Why is that your fallback?_ Bruce wasn't surprised when there was no answer. _I'm curious about something, Hulk. My heart rate was pretty high when Tony… when we kissed. Why?_

_Hulk not stupid like Banner._

_Well, that's about as helpful as— never mind. Remember Betty?_

_Pretty Betty. Nice Betty._

_So do you describe all the people I like that way?_

_Pretty Tony?_

_I walked into that. But you didn't like when I kissed Betty, remember?_

_Betty still scared. Banner still scared. Not good._

_What, you're a relationship therapist now?_ Of course there was no answer. He sighed, which was always unusual in his trance state. _So, you're, what? Okay if I do things as long as you approve of the person? You're okay if it's Tony? I mean, not that it is Tony. I can't believe I'm even asking you about this. It was just a kiss. A kiss that didn't mean anything—_

_Banner like Nice Tony,_ Hulk interrupted _. Nice Tony safe. Not afraid of Hulk._ There was a pause. _Good for Banner. Banner not so scared now._

_So the Hulk is a relationship therapist. Never counted on that one._

He tried to find humor in the situation, but he was still trying to work through his confused feelings from earlier. He didn't want things to get awkward. He didn't want Tony to find out he'd pushed him away because he wanted so much more than a casual fling. Sure, maybe under different circumstances he'd settle for it and let himself get hurt in the end, but he needed to be there for Tony as a friend right now. He couldn't risk letting his emotions get muddled to the point that he couldn't handle it anymore and walked away when Tony still needed him.

_Banner still scared_ , Hulk said with a huff _._

_I know, I know. I'm always scared. I'm always angry. I never get what I want. You don't have to tell me._

Hulk growled. _STUPID BANNER!_

_I'm always stupid. Yes, add that to the list. Thank you._ Bruce was surprised by what almost sounded like laughter.

_Banner pouting. Pouting like baby._

_I…_ Realization hit him. _Oh god. I am. I'm pouting like some emotional teenager. Damn it, Tony._ He sighed again. _Okay, Mr. Relationship Therapist. What should I do? I see you don't seem to care about Tony playing with my emotions.You probably find it amusing.  
_

Then again, maybe that was his fault. He wanted to be mad at Tony, but somehow couldn't manage it. He was just being Tony in all his problematic glory and Bruce wasn't sure he'd like him as much if he wasn't just a little rough around the edges, maybe because it made him feel more secure about his own demons.

_Banner not tell Nice Tony truth. Maybe Nice Tony kiss Banner again if tell._ Hulk almost sounded patronizing with his simplified speech and logic and suddenly Bruce regretted everything.

_Nope. No… I take it back. This is too weird. I'll figure this out on my own. Thank you._ Bruce had the sudden and strange image of Hulk grimacing like an exasperated child.

_Banner talk more._ The subject was suddenly changed _. Hulk bored._

_I can't just sit in a trance all day._ There was no response. He considered everything. Sure, getting relationship advice was weird. _But I guess this isn't… so bad. Maybe we can… Maybe we can come up with some sort of arrangement._

Hulk grunted in approval.

_Banner should tell Nice Tony truth._

_We'll talk later,_ Bruce said with a groan and opened his eyes.

"Easy for you to say, Hulk," he muttered when he was fully awake in his lab again. "But just because I don't always get what I want doesn't mean I have to lose what I have." He wasn't going to lose his friendship with Tony over a charged moment that got the better of the currently emotionally vulnerable playboy.

***

"That's horrible," Pepper said as she and Tony sat in his apartment reading through the extensive files on Wanda and Pietro. There was some video footage of the experiments, but Tony couldn't bring himself to watch them.

"I'm so glad Bruce listened to Fury on this one. He definitely doesn't need this," Tony said as he scanned the current document, wincing every now and then.

"You should probably tell him at least. Delicately though," Pepper warned. "And preferably not in a public place," she added.

"Really?" Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Yes, really. Look, Tony, we both know if you could have your way, you'd ask him to marry you tomorrow," she said with a laugh.

"I think you're exaggerating a little bit," Tony replied with a frown.

"You know what I mean," Pepper said with another small laugh. "The point is, you're already living with the guy and you've been practically pining for him since you met."

"I, uh—"

"And now you're potentially adding volatile children to the mix. He needs to know about their past just in case," she explained.

"Yeah, but it mirrors his own demons, Pep. That's a lot to put on him," Tony reasoned.

"It's also a lot to put on him by keeping it from him. That's no way to show him you're interested. _Truly_ interested," she emphasized. He'd told her about the kiss and how Bruce had shut him down and the impression he'd gotten that Bruce thought he was just being some reckless cad. He'd wanted to set Bruce straight, tell him how he'd been wrestling with his attraction since he'd met him, but couldn't find the nerve for all his supposed confidence. "Do you trust him?" Pepper asked. "Don’t you think he's more likely to protect them if he connects with them?"

Tony sighed. "Okay, you're better at this than I am. I'm not even in a relationship with him and you're already giving me tips as if I am. Maybe _you_ should date him," he suggested playfully.

"Maybe I should," she said with a smirk and for half a second he saw green, metaphorically speaking of course and not like the man they were talking about. "I mean if I can handle you, I'm sure I can handle a Hulk."

"I was honestly kidding." Tony scowled. "And I thought you were seeing someone on the down low?" So down low that Tony didn't even know who it was yet, and it unnerved him a little. He didn't like not knowing things.

"I am and I was kidding too, you jealous idiot." She laughed outright at him. "Seriously, green is a better look on Bruce, don't you think? Oh, poor, Tony," she then became patronizing and for a moment he wondered why she always said _he_ was the obnoxious one. How were they even friends? "Are you going to be okay after today? Please don't pull a jerky friend zone move," she said, voice becoming earnest again.

Tony gave an indignant huff. "May I remind you that you and I didn't actually try dating until months after the whole almost-kiss thing? That whole time you and I were still very good friends. Hell, I gave you my company. I think I'm more than capable of handling a crush maturely, thank you very much. Besides, I have a little hope that he might feel something too."

Bruce had kissed him back, had practically melted into him, seemed disappointed that it might just be to get a kink out of his system, but another part of him worried Bruce was just a practical person who didn't go in for hypothetically being used. Maybe it disgusted him more because he _didn't_ have those kinds of feelings and had merely been responding physically in the moment.

"You weren't even going to tell me you were dying," Pepper reminded him, breaking through his thoughts. "That would have been more 'mature,'" she air quoted and rolled her eyes. "Not to mention it would have been way more appreciated than giving me the stressful job of managing your company."

"I made you an omelet," Tony corrected with a pout. "I had intention of telling you."

"Okay, I stand corrected. You were going to tell me on a plane over an omelet. That's not exactly the kind of way you expect to hear that someone you care about is dying. The point is you can't clam up, Tony. And you have a very bad habit of it even if you're not trying to be dishonest. You can't keep secrets and expect it to end well."

Tony winced. _Secrets_. He now knew a little too well how awful it felt to have major secrets withheld from him, even with supposed good intentions, by people he thought he trusted. Well, marginally trusted. 

"Point taken. I'll figure out a way to tell him." He just didn't know how or when. He really _wasn't_ good at the relationship thing, be it friendship or anything more, he thought with a frown. Would he be even worse as a father figure?

Pepper's face softened. "I'm actually concerned about you too, Tony. I mean, this is a lot to ask of him as a friend, but it's a lot for you. You're trying to pursue an actual relationship, with another superhero on top of it, and trying to insert yourself into the lives of two kids you didn't even know you had, _also_ superhuman. That's a lot and I know you've changed immensely in the past few years, but it's _a lot_. It would be for anyone." She shook her head, albeit fondly. "I'm glad that you want something like this, I really do. But I don't want you to get hurt should none of it go your way, Tony. It's a very real possibility."

"To be fair, I wasn't actually planning on the thing with Bruce happening the way it did," Tony felt inclined to point out, not that he regretted it. One kiss was better than nothing, on a superficial level, and it had proved to him that the feelings were definitely not just all in his mind just because they seemed to have a special friendship. It had proved to him just how much he wanted Bruce on multiple levels. "I just, couldn't help it. There were all of these emotions and he's been with me through all of them and I couldn't keep it to myself anymore." Pepper laughed gently. "What?"

"Maybe I should wonder what he's got that I didn't have, but I do hope it works out. I could see right away something was different." He smiled at her agreement that there was something genuine there, at least on Tony's side, but then saw the way she hesitated. "Just… be careful. With," she looked up at the screens, "all of this."

"I will. But I also know I'm making the right calls now, Pepper. It just feels right."

*

Tony didn’t bother Bruce the rest of the afternoon. He didn't know if the physicist was holed up so as to give him time alone with the twins' files or if it was because of the unexpected kiss. He only knew Bruce was in his personal lab the rest of the day and Tony decided to keep his code of not invading the space needlessly.

Still, as the hours ticked by with no sign of his friend, he began to worry he'd royally screwed everything up. He even caved and asked JARVIS if Bruce was still around, thinking aybe he'd freaked out and high-tailed it out of there. The AI was quite offended at the notion that he wouldn't have alerted Tony if that were the case.

Finally, Bruce emerged from his solitude around the time they usually ate dinner, which was to say near nine on most nights because they were regular bachelors with abysmal circadian rhythms. Tony watched him come in from where he sat crossed-leg on the couch with his second bowl of cereal and an episode of Mythbusters on the television. Again, bachelors.

Tony turned his attention back to the television, not wanting to make it apparent he'd been freaking out just a little, and mumbled at it. "That's not going to work at all." Suddenly, the bowl was being pulled from his hands. "Hey," he said in slight shock and amusement as he looked up at his friend.

"This isn't dinner, Tony," Bruce said with a shake of his head.

Tony felt relief wash over him because this kind of behavior was as Bruce-like as ever so maybe things would be okay after all. Maybe Bruce had just needed time alone to laugh off the kiss, as damning as that might be for any hope Tony had. Still, he was going to take the out for now. He needed it. 

"It's food and food is dinner," Tony said as he jumped up from the couch and followed Bruce into the kitchen.

Bruce snorted as he dumped out the offending food staple. "I can just see it now. You feeding your two eight-year-old kids big bowls of cereal for dinner and then wondering why they won't stop bouncing off the walls. Quite probably literally in Pietro's case," he said with a shake of his head and then moved to pull out some 'real food' as he called it from the fridge.

Tony sighed in concession. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I'll have you around to help me," he said, hoping it wasn't too soon to make that kind of intimate remark. He meant it just as much as he would have had things not taken the bizarre turn they had earlier in the day.

"I guess it is," Bruce said with a smile and much to Tony's relief over the course of the night they returned to their usual, easy companionship.

Still, he couldn't help but also be a little disappointed. Their usual, easy companionship didn't feel like enough anymore. He'd maybe forgotten how much handling an unrequited crush maturely sucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. FUN FACT: This fic was almost very different after the first section of this chapter. My cousin pleaded for it to be fast burn to established relationship because she doesn't like slow burn or something idk. SO. The kiss did indeed turn into them admitting their crushes and tentatively (well on Bruce's part) pursuing a romantic relationship amidst Tony pursuing a bond with his kids. So while there were some, I thought particularly good, jokes and comments about how ridiculously over the top it all was for them to go from zero to sixty, from friends to lovers with kids, and some cute moments of them already being lovey-dovey and domestic and Bruce being supportive in the context of a lover, it just wasn't going where I ultimately felt it should. It backed this particular work into a corner that I couldn't get out of and I started envisioning a very different way it could (and I felt should) have been developed. So in the middle of Chapter 9 (the chapters were shorter at the time so it was the equivalent of Chapter 6 in this finished product I'd say) I stopped writing and told her I was going to take what I had and with a new draft rewrite it from the kiss on with them not getting together and see how I felt, with the compromise that they still have feelings, but it will be a mutual pining deal with them being idiots who don't communicate (which is probably more convoluted, but it was that or I probably never would have finished this story at all). I still have that original, unfinished draft and when my cousin read both it and this finished one, she thankfully agreed that she liked what it turned into better.   
> 2\. _and suddenly Bruce regretted everything._ AKA your author was regretting everything about this fic at that point. Everything from agreeing to writing it for her cousin to attempting to rewrite several chapters to making Hulk an accidental relationship therapist.   
>  3\. _So down low that Tony didn't even know who it was yet, and it unnerved him a little._ Because at this point in the story I knew who my cousin would really love it to be, but wasn't sure if I'd surprise her with that pairing yet. So it's a 'maybe Tony will find out or maybe it's just a tease and it will stay Pepper's secret' line :)  
>  4\. Yes there is supposed to be irony in Pepper telling Tony not to clam up...while he clams up about his ~true feelings~ in order to prop the mutual pining.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, this is it," Tony said, sounding a little nervous as they pulled up to the non-distinct SHIELD children's home. He put the Audi in park and chattered his teeth a little as he surveyed the building.

Fury had given Tony a call that morning saying the twins were interested in meeting him. Bruce had been invited by the engineer to tag along and now he was glad he had agreed. Tony clearly needed the moral support.

"Having second thoughts?" Bruce asked with as much non-judgment as he could infuse into his tone. He would be nervous if it was the other way around.

Tony turned and looked at him and even through the slight red tint of his sunglasses he could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Does that make me a horrible person?"

Bruce offered him a placating smile and shook his head. "Not at all. This is all happening really fast. You haven't had time to adjust and now you're actually about to meet two kids that are technically yours. Most people would feel the same way." 

Tony shifted his sunglasses to his head and Bruce understood the meaning behind it. Tony was removing his mask for him, because he trusted him to see him vulnerable. It was something Bruce didn't take lightly.

"I'm just wondering what if this was a mistake? What if I just make their lives worse? What if… I never thought I'd say this, but what if they don't like me?"

Bruce licked his lips and gave an almost indistinguishable nod of his head. "I don't know the answers to those questions. But…" Then, taking a leaf out of Tony's tactile book, he leaned over and squeezed his arm. "I do believe that whatever happens, you can handle it. You're a genius remember?"

Tony visibly relaxed. "Where have you been all my life?" he asked with a fond smirk.

"Not sure you want the answers to that question," Bruce replied with a small laugh. He then considered his next comment for a moment, whether or not he was being ridiculous or risking things given his feelings, but he said it anyway. "But I'm here now."

No matter what, he could promise Tony right now and hoped he could promise him for however long he needed or wanted him around to help out. No matter how nervous it made him to admit such a thing. No matter how much his stomach coiled and longed for relief.

Tony stared at him intently and Bruce felt like he couldn't breathe. Hulk's advice to just tell Tony how he really felt echoed in his mind and a very undisciplined part of him wanted to just give in and get the rejection over with. Then something caught his eyes along the sidewalk and he furrowed his brow. "Is that Clint?"

Tony furrowed his own brow and followed Bruce's gaze. They looked back at one another, sharing a confused glance, before getting out of the car. They walked over to see that it was indeed the archer, absentmindedly twirling a few arrows between his fingers like drumsticks.

"Hey, Legolas, what are you doing here?" Tony addressed him first and the archer tensed up, arrows stilling immediately, before turning to look at them.

"I, uh…" Bruce could tell Clint was conflicted and guessed he wasn't aware they already knew the details of their location. "Look, keep this on the down low, but this is a children's home under SHIELD protection. Fury would have my head if he knew I told you."

"A children's home, huh?" Tony said in mock surprise. "Are you, what? Their guard dog?"

Clint shrugged. "I'm good with orphans and displaced kids so I get a lot of missions with them," he then said and Bruce recalled Clint's file. It made sense. He also noted that Clint had been honest with them; that was good. "And, yeah, I'm kind of like a guard dog right now I guess. I'm assigned to keep an eye on a couple of kids who don't have…" He paused, his usually impassive face showing genuine sorrow. Bruce and Tony shared a quick glance as they realized Clint was who they were supposed to meet. "Agent Coulson was their handler," Clint finally said.

Tony's eyes widened and he looked at Bruce like he was on the verge of having a sudden anxiety attack at the revelation. Bruce could see the likely thoughts pass through Tony's darkened eyes without his needing to voice them. Coulson had not only known too, he had been the one keeping an eye on them. But now the kids had lost him too and although Bruce didn't know much about Coulson, he could tell from everyone else that those who had gotten close to the man felt his loss distinctly. Tony had had nightmares about it. Even Pepper had been in a state of despondency the first few weeks he'd known her and she still got a little sad whenever the fallen agent was mentioned. Bruce could only imagine these poor children's reaction.

"How did they take it?" Bruce had to ask.

Clint's lips were drawn into a tight frown. "Not good. One of them… She took it really hard."

Bruce frowned, brow creased, and he looked over at Tony with concern. Sure enough, Tony's face looked broken and Bruce wondered if he should say anything. He was then suddenly aware that Clint had no idea that Tony was their father. Fury must have thought it would be hilarious retribution to let them walk into this kind of awkward situation without any warning in spite of his saying the agent would be given the details. It was another tally for the 'never trust Fury to tell the whole truth' column.

"Is she okay now?" Tony asked.

Clint hitched a shoulder. "Better I guess. And now she has other things to think about. Apparently Fury gave the okay for the kids to meet their father if they were willing. That's who I'm waiting f—" Clint's eyes widened slightly and he studied them both. "Shit. Which one of you is it?"

Bruce and Tony shared one more look before the billionaire squared his shoulders and looked at the archer. "That would be me."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me right now," Clint said incredulously and began to pace. Then after a few rounds the archer turned on his heel and fixed Tony with a glare. "How long have you known and why now?"

Bruce realized that Clint was getting defensive, pegging Tony as some bastard who didn't want his children until it suited him. Bruce took a breath and allowed Tony to do the job of clearing up that particularly bullshit assumption. Unsurprisingly, it didn't take Tony long as he got just as defensive beside him.

"Calm down there, Barton. Ever the liar, I'm guessing Fury didn't give you any details about the kids' parentage?" Tony said with a hint of bitterness.

Clint shook his head. "He didn't. He called me into his office and offered me the job as the kids' new handler. Said they needed one because their dad was in the picture now and said I could wait until after this meeting to make a decision. If I agreed, then he'd give me access to their files. The bulk of what I know is Phil was their handler and they've been in SHIELD custody for the past three years because they have powers courtesy of HYDRA." Clint looked back and forth between them with a confused expression.

"Yeah, figures," Tony mumbled. "Fury's probably laughing his ass off somewhere because I was told you would know the details."

Clint sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like Fury's sense of humor."

Bruce and Tony shared a skeptical frown. "So here's the deal," Tony started. "I didn't know about it until a few days ago. And here's the rawer deal. I _wouldn't_ have known if JARVIS hadn't come across their files in the SHIELD archives. Your hilarious boss wasn't planning on ever telling me. Now, let's do the math here before you give me some speech about how I should be ashamed of myself."

Clint looked genuinely taken back, and Bruce had to admit subjectively he liked seeing the archer put in his place after his initial accusation.

"Seriously?" He looked down with a considering expression. "Why would Fury keep it from you? I get they're unique and you're, well, you, but you're also a billionaire and playing on our team." He looked back up at Tony. "The least you could have done is give them monetary support," he reasoned. "Or he could have held that over your head, honestly," he added with a casual shrug. Bruce frowned at how manipulative everything was. "How the hell did you even get involved with HYDRA in the first place?" 

Bruce's eyes widened and he looked at Tony. He could see Tony contemplating the question and he tensed when he realized the billionaire had come to the decision of being honest with Clint. Even if he could respect Tony for it. 

"I really didn't have a choice," Tony said vaguely.

"What do you mean you-" Clint stopped short. "Shit. Oh shit. Really?" He seemed more taken back than before, but this time Bruce didn't like seeing the reaction.

"Pretty much," Tony replied. Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to ground him. "Let's just say HYDRA deemed my sperm as," he air quoted, "'worthy enough' for their little PROJECT MIRACLE. Sent an agent to collect it."

Clint looked stunned for a moment before returning to a more professional, neutral resting expression. "Damn. So you really didn't know?"

"Not a clue." Tony didn't look Clint in the eyes and instead focused on Bruce's hand. "I can assure you I used to practice safer than safe sex to avoid these kinds of situations. I was, unfortunately, unable to do that in this case."

"Okay, I'm sorry. That's…. Yeah, that's awful. But," he looked thoughtful, "if you wanted to avoid this kind of thing, why do you wanna meet them?"

Tony fixed him with a glare. Better him than Bruce.

"I'd like to think I've changed since then," he said angrily. "And just because I wasn't planning on having kids doesn't mean I'm the kind of man to be an asshole now that they're here. I want to know they're okay. And I want to be there for them." Bruce felt his stomach flip at Tony's paternal instinct. 

"Huh." Clint made no spectacle of hiding that he was surprised. "So you really care about these kids?"

"Just asking for the chance to, Barton," Tony replied to that, but then tilted his head as if in consideration. "And on an instinctive level, yeah, I guess I already do. Or I wouldn't be here."

"Okay, well, then I guess we can move ahead with the process." Clint sniffed and straightened his back, immediately becoming the professional agent he was trained to be. "Fury says you get an hour and I have to be in the room to supervise. Is Dr. Banner…?" Clint turned a curious glance toward Bruce.

"Fury already okayed it," Tony clipped and offered him the sharp grin that Bruce knew was a challenge to argue otherwise. "He's with me."

"As in actually _with_ you?" Clint looked them both over. "Because I've wondered about that."

Bruce tensed and suddenly realized his hand was still on Tony's shoulder. He let it fall quickly.

"We're friends, dumbass," Tony intervened, though not without a quick and uncertain glance at him that Bruce wasn't sure Tony knew he'd noticed. "So stop making my friend uncomfortable."

Clint looked back and forth between them with a studious gaze. Then he shrugged. "Whatever. I don't really care what you do behind doors. Or what you want to call it." Bruce narrowed his eyes at that response. "Let's just get this over with. You should know I'm tasked with reporting the meeting back to Fury for his evaluation. And, obviously, if I accept the handler position, I'll know everything."

"I just assumed you'd record it," Tony said, hitching a shoulder as he looked at Bruce. His sunglasses were on again, but Bruce thought he saw something strange in his eyes just the same. He then looked back at Clint. "And, honestly, I hope you do accept the position. Rather somebody I can trust than somebody I can't." 

Bruce smiled at how, of all the things, that was what rendered Clint the most dumb.

***

Tony looked around the large room where he and Bruce sat waiting for Clint to return with Wanda and Pietro. For some reason the entire building, but especially this room, reminded him of his days at boarding school. It was plainly and practically furnished and there was a single window. He half expected the dean to show up and go on and on about how someone of his genius and esteemed family name should try harder. Even the chairs that they sat in were the kind you would find in a principal's office.

"I can't believe Coulson knew," Tony said, needing to break the uncomfortable silence. "I can't believe he's the one who was taking care of them."

"I didn't really know him, but isn't it good it was somebody you trusted?" Bruce asked practically.

Tony considered it. He wasn't sure who he trusted anymore, although he had a good feeling about Barton after their exchange, but Agent Coulson had always seemed straightforward and more likely to be honest on a gut instinct than the others.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He didn't have time to consider it further when the door opened and Clint ushered the boy and girl over to a couch that sat across from the seats Tony and Bruce were in. The arrangement of the room and the distance between the couch and chairs told Tony that it was deliberate; they wanted visiting parties to be beyond arm's length.

Tony startled when he laid eyes on the two children in person. The girl had shoulder length brunette hair, pulled back a little by a red hair band, and large green eyes that looked to be studying him very carefully. The boy who he had originally thought looked like he had lighter brown hair now up close looked as though his hair was almost white just beyond the roots, which were very much the same color as his own hair – darker than his sister's who up close he could now see had ruddy undertones, making it closer to auburn. He wondered if it was a side effect of the experiments. Pietro's eyes were blue and seemed mostly locked on his sister with a mixture of uncertainty and protectiveness.

Tony studied their faces, trying to find other Stark features. They both had the broad forehead, though he wasn't sure if that was something their mother had as well; he would have to try and find pictures since he hadn't seen any in their files. He thought Pietro had quite a good deal of the Stark male features trying to show through, though his nose was different. Wanda's nose was different too, but—

Suddenly a smile spread across Wanda's face, and she tilted her head, and beside him Bruce gasped. "Tony…" he whispered, but he didn't need to finish the statement.

When Wanda smiled, it was broad and bright and very much the Stark smile. Somehow in that moment it was like her entire face changed and he just knew she was a Stark, that she was his own flesh and blood. It wasn't a mirror, but there was still something about it. 

"Agent Coulson told us about you," Wanda spoke first. Her speech was accented, but it sounded like it was fading – perhaps from being in New York City for the past three years of her young life.

"He did?" Clint replied before Tony could. "I don't think he was supposed to do that." Wanda rolled her eyes and her exasperated expression and the way she tensed as if she didn't like being patronized reminded Tony of himself.

"He didn't tell us specifics," she said smartly. Then she looked Tony head on. "But he told us you were alive and that you didn't know about us. He said you are a very smart man and a hero, but not responsible. He said you are rich."

"So essentially he told you enough information that a basic Google search could have given you a name or two," Tony said, giving her a testing look. Her smile returned and it was sharp, cunning. Tony matched it. "So you had a pretty good idea of who I was."

"I asked him if it was Tony Stark. He said he wasn't at liberty to say. But that's not what he thought," she said. Tony had to admit he was both impressed and suddenly paranoid at the prospect of having a telepathic daughter not afraid of using her powers.

"I know I've not been around that long, but I do know you're not supposed to be misusing your powers," Clint chastised from where he stood against a wall with his eyes closed.

"I can't always control it," she replied to that, looking at him sharply over her shoulder.

Clint snorted. "Likely story."

She huffed, but then furrowed her brow and looked over at Tony. "You believe me?"

"Uh…" He glanced at Bruce, silently begging for back up because suddenly he was out of his element. He had, in fact, just given her the benefit of the doubt in his mind.

Wanda followed his gaze apparently because suddenly she gasped as if startled. Tony looked back over quickly to see her studying Bruce intently.

"You have two minds." She seemed somewhere between confused and awed.

"Well this just escalated," Tony said as Bruce squirmed and Clint stood up straight off the wall. "Look, Wanda, I know this is unusual, but—"

"He's the Hulk," Wanda said as her eyes widened. Beside her Pietro's eyes widened too. "Pietro, he's the Hulk."

"Oh god," Bruce muttered beside him and shot out a hand, patting his arm. "What do I do, Tony? I don't—"

"You're really the Hulk?" Pietro spoke finally, looking a bit incredulous. "Why aren't you big and green?"

"Don't you get it, Pietro?" Wanda shot her brother an impatient look. "He's sometimes human, but then turns into that."

"Cool! Were you experimented on too?" Pietro became excited while Wanda seemed to die a little bit of embarrassment beside him.

Tony felt himself relax as they suddenly began behaving like typical children and beamed a little over the fact that Pietro seemed to be a fan of the Other Guy. He also made a mental note that it seemed like Wanda maintained a good deal of the IQ after the experiments compared to Pietro and… Suddenly, what Pietro had asked struck him and he turned to see Bruce breathing heavily beside him.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," he soothed and grabbed his hand. "He doesn't know any better. You know that."

"Of course I know that," Bruce said between gritted teeth. "Still a bit of a shock." He exhaled sharply.

Tony turned back to look at the kids. "Yes, there was an experiment. Sometimes he turns big and green, but that's not going to happen right now, okay?" Pietro frowned. "Hey, I get it. It's a cool party trick and the big, green guy is loads of fun," he ignored the strangled noise that Bruce made in protest, "but it takes a lot out of him. It's different than what you guys can do. Now he has a name that is not Hulk. It's Bruce. And as you seem to already know, I'm Tony Stark." Tony then turned his attention back to Bruce, face softening into concern. "Better? Do you need to leave?" Tony searched his eyes. 

"You are in love with him!" Wanda blurted and Tony knew his eyes were as wide as Bruce's as they both turned to look at the girl. Pietro seemed very confused, but Wanda seemed surprised and something else that Tony couldn't quite read.

Tony suddenly regretted asking Bruce to tag along. Now how was he supposed to salvage things? She was a kid, he reasoned. All kids thought in simple terms. They didn't always understand the nuance of things. Yes, that was an angle. Besides, sure, he liked Bruce a lot and had feelings, but that didn't mean his feelings had gotten _that far_. 

"He's my best friend," he said quickly. "Well, one of them. So, sure, I like the guy." Still, he couldn't help but recklessly look at Bruce and add, "A lot." He then looked back at the twins. "Friends can like each other without being in love. You know that right? There's like, this thing, called platonic soulmates and, uh, yeah, that's what Bruce is... to me," he lied. Wanda studied him with narrowed eyes and beside him he felt Bruce relaxing and trying to laugh it off shakily.

"Platonic soulmates," Bruce echoed and it sounded as if he was rolling the words around on his tongue to see how they tasted. Tony secretly hoped they tasted awful because they sure hadn't tasted right for him.

"This is awkward as hell," Clint muttered.

"So why did you come to see us?" Pietro asked after the awkwardness finally seemed to pass.

"Honestly? Because I found out about you," Tony answered, leaning forward in his chair so that his arms rested on his knees. "And if you want me to be around, then I want to be around. Simple as that."

"You want us?" Wanda seemed disbelieving and Tony's stomach churned a little as he realized she probably didn't have a lot of reasons to trust people.

"I do. I don't know if I'd make a very good dad, but I'm willing to give it a shot if they let me." He kept his voice low and hopefully reassuring.

"Why wouldn't they let you?" Wanda suddenly looked suspicious and darted her eyes over to Clint.

"Because a lot of people think I'm irresponsible and probably unqualified to take care of two kids." He leaned back again and raised his hands palm up. "And they're probably right for the most part. So it's not a guarantee they'd let me keep you, but I'm willing to do what I can to make it happen if you both decide you like me enough to put up with me. Also, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't know sooner. I'm sorry you went through all the stuff you went through."

He saw the shadow that fell across Wanda's face at the apology and she looked at her brother. "We have to think about it," Pietro said, stepping forward and angling himself as if to protect Wanda.

"I understand. No pressure at all. And no hurry. Until then, can I come visit you some more? I at least want to get to know you. Or maybe they'd let me take you to visit my place to see if you even like it. Or just out to dinner or wherever you'd like to go." Tony rattled off ideas as they sprang to his mind. He still felt out of his depth now that he was near them, but they were his and he didn't want to give them up too easily.

"I'd have to tag along to supervise," Clint interjected. "Since I'm going to be their new handler. 

"That's fine, Barton." Tony waved a dismissive hand in his direction and noted the way both Wanda and Pietro looked in surprise at Clint's announcement. 

"And they have to wear their dampeners outside of the building," Clint continued.

"Dampeners?" Tony raised an eyebrow and spared a sideways glance at Bruce. He could see the gears turning behind his brown eyes and could only fathom what he was thinking.

"They're bracelets that prevent us from using our powers," Pietro answered, grumbling as he did. "We have to wear them until we learn to control our powers."

"Or can be trusted not to misuse them," Clint added.

"You know, the training facility I'm building at the tower would be perfect for them," Tony pointed out as the thought occurred to him.

"I'll be sure to mention that when I give my report," Clint said. His face was impassive, but Tony hoped he meant it as a sign of support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. So we finally get to the twins officially. I'll be honest up front, Wanda gets wayyyy more time and development in this story because, well, she gets wayyyy more time and development in the MCU. (And because Wanda is my darling and I love her so it's just easier for me to be biased.)   
> 2\. Wanda and Pietro will have some of their comic-based powers and personalities in this, but at the same time I obviously went with telepathic!Wanda. I almost didn't because after the movie, when my cousin and I started discussing this, I was like "wtf she's telepathic? ~~Charles you slut~~." But then my cousin was like "but think of all the glorious things you could do with that and YAY finally a telepath in the mcu" and then some plot points for this story based on having a telepathic!Wanda came to me so here we are. I mean, I'm not even convinced yet MCU Wanda is a fully realized telepath outside of her sensing Pietro's death (maybe she heard it over the commlink?) or her being able to read things (her entering their minds could easily be hex/reality warping alone imo), but what the hell she's going to be a fully realized telepath in this.  
>  3\. Because I'm a cruel person, one of the first things that I personally came up with for this story was Phil being their handler and the kids losing him just like everybody else. My cousin still hasn't forgiven me for this.  
> 4\. This isn't like a super long story by any means, so I hope people aren't looking forward to like 10 chapters worth of Tony getting to know the kids down to the most intricate detail and a really well actualized growth of their relationships. (Another reason why I probably felt it wasn't very good idk.)


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce stood at his stove, stirring some pasta sauce when he heard Tony come into his newly finished apartment. He had to admit he was a little glad that Tony still felt inclined to come calling on him at random because after four and a half months of living in the same apartment the separate space was odd.

"Hey, you," he called over to him.

"Hey, yourself."

"I'm beginning to think you can't keep away," he teased the other man in spite of his own feelings on the subject. "Miss me already?" He turned to see Tony eyeing the salad, bread sticks and large thing of pasta with a calculating look.

"Hmm. Well, unless you had an incident while I was gone, I'd say your cooking enough for the both of us means the feeling's mutual." He smirked at him, but then his smirk softened. "But the answer is yes. I'm lonely. Move back in with me, Bruce." He held up his hands in a pleading manner.

Bruce rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched in mirth. "You're right. I'm a little too used to breaking bread with you," he said melodramatically, but not without earnest. "And I'm a little worried you'll fall back on your nutritious diet of cereal and takeout if I don’t make you meals."

"But no to the moving back in?" Tony asked with a playful pout.

"No to the moving back in," Bruce answered. The separation was odd and maybe a little superficial since they still spent countless hours together, but Bruce reasoned even just a little distance would be good for them. Or maybe he meant it would be good for him. "You need that spare room for the twins, remember?"

Tony perked up and Bruce smiled knowingly. The engineer had just come from another after school visit to the twins, his fifth over the past two weeks, and he could see Tony was practically chomping at the bit over something.

"I take it you had a good afternoon?" Bruce asked since Tony seemed too eager to get the conversation rolling on his own.

"It was great," Tony said with a smile and still far much too excited energy. He could just imagine if Tony had superhuman speed. It was almost a scary thought.

"Here." Bruce handed him the pasta ladle so he could have something to focus on. "Stir."

Tony nodded and took it. "I helped Pietro with some homework," he started more evenly. "Never thought that would be something I enjoyed. Nobody ever helped me with my homework."

Bruce furrowed his brow. "Did you need help with your homework?"

"Mm-not usually. But there were a few things I struggled with and it would have been a nice sentiment just the same. I think Jarvis tried a few times, but…" He shrugged.

"And Wanda?" Bruce shifted the conversation.

"She asked me if I knew how to braid hair because Clint knows how to braid hair."

"You said yes," Bruce said with a laugh at the same time Tony said, "Of course I said yes."

"I tried my best and it kind of looked like a braid in the end," Tony said with a grimace. He then stopped stirring, pulled out his phone and showed Bruce the finished product.

Bruce gritted his teeth and looked at Tony with a grimace of his own. "Uh… Okay. I hope they don't have to cut it loose," he said, unable to hold back his laughter anymore. "Poor thing."

"She was nice about it thank goodness. Clint and Pietro weren't. I promised her that as a genius I'll figure out how to become a braiding expert." Tony ran his hands through Bruce's hair. "Maybe I can practice on you."

Bruce sputtered and laughed as he squirmed away, turning off both cook tops and taking the pasta to the strainer. "Don't even think about it. I'd probably have to shave my head or something."

Tony snorted. "Oh, and they asked about you, by the way," he said as he came over with his phone and showed Bruce some more photos while he drained the water slowly. Bruce couldn't help but smile as it was clear Tony and the twins were definitely starting to bond. "They wondered why you didn't come this time. Pietro asked if you were busy being the Hulk."

"I almost wish," Bruce replied with a chortle. "That meeting was awful."

"They always are," Tony quipped and put away his phone. "I told them you were busy doing boring stuff and was sad you couldn't make it because you think spending time with them is awesomesauce. My exact words."

"Eloquent and to the point," Bruce deadpanned. "I'm glad you had a good time with them by yourself though. That's good. _You're_ their dad after all."

"Yeah and hanging out with Uncle Clint isn't so bad," Tony said with a shrug. "But here's the best part." Bruce smiled as he took down some dishes. He was wondering when Tony would get to whatever news he had. "They finally want to go on an outing. This is hopeful. Maybe if they trust me enough to go out in public, they might want to come here."

"That's great news," Bruce agreed wholeheartedly. "It'll also be good for you. It's one thing to visit them, but maybe another to actually be responsible for them elsewhere. This is a good next step."

Tony hummed. "Yeah, they're definitely a handful."

"You're a handful," Bruce deadpanned, but then considered the statement. "They're definitely special, Tony and I know there'll be a lot of challenges, but I still think you can handle it."

Tony smiled. "Well, I've had a great support system." Bruce ducked his head at the compliment and made himself focus on plating himself some dinner. "I know I'm probably moving at the speed of light even imagining they might want to come live with me, but—"

Bruce couldn't help but laugh at that and it startled Tony into meeting his gaze and stopping abruptly. "You're a whirlwind, Tony. Speed of light is part of your genetic makeup. Apparently your son's too," he added with a soft smile. "But you need those kids and they need you. Don't worry about anything else. Just keep fighting for them, showing them you mean to be there for them. They'll come around sooner or later. They couldn't stay away from someone as amazing as you if they tried." He smiled at him, hoped that hadn't sounded like it was borne out of personal conviction, and moved past him.

"I still need you around too, Bruce," Tony said in a quiet voice that sounded almost fearful and Bruce's breath hitched. "Are you still okay with all of this? With, helping me through it?" Was Tony afraid he might finally get the notion to leave Manhattan?

Bruce bit his lip and ignored Hulk's mocking voice in his head to tell Tony the truth, tell him why running away was the last thing he wanted even if he was running away from the reasons why.

"Don't worry, Tony," he said simply. "I'm not going anywhere."

*

"This is…" Tony started uncertainly and Bruce huffed out a small laugh in understanding.

As he looked around the crowded tent set up in Central Park, a circus that Wanda and Pietro had chosen for their first time out with Tony, he had to wonder a little at what he was thinking.

It wasn't so much the crowds, but the knowledge that circuses typically had wild animals, _caged_ animals. He wasn't entirely sure yet how the Other Guy might handle that. He wasn't even sure how _he_ might handle that now that he understood what the feeling was like.

But even if that wasn't going to present a problem the entire situation was a little weird. Clint and Natasha sat on the other side of Wanda and Pietro, who were sandwiched between Clint and Tony. Bruce had an aisle seat for obvious reasons.

"It's weird right?" Bruce asked knowingly.

"Uh, yeah. It feels like we're on a double date only there's kids involved." He winced and then looked back over to his kids. "Not that the kids thing is what's weird about it." He then looked at him again. "And I wasn't implying it would be weird to be on a date with you before you get the wrong idea." Bruce blinked. "I was definitely referring to the unexpected tag along." Tony turned back and tilted his head forward. Natasha met his gaze testily from what Bruce could see just beyond Tony's shoulder.

"Really, Stark? How is it weirder for you than me? You're the one who has twins. _You_."

"So I have twins? That's great. It's the opposite of weird." Bruce didn't miss the way both Wanda and Pietro seem to minutely preen and share a small glance at one another. It made him smile.

"You know," Natasha interrupted as she reached for a few peanuts from a bag that Clint held, "just because I said it's weird, doesn't mean I think it's a bad thing." She popped them into her mouth and shrugged. "I'm just a little skeptical is all."

"Fine, I understand the skepticism," Tony conceded, perhaps a little too easily. "But I'd like to think I've come a long way since your little Natalie act."

Natasha gave him a look that Bruce thought said she would reserve judgment until later, as if all of this might blow up in Tony's face, but she didn't say anything. Bruce tweaked his jaw slightly, hoping that Natasha's final judgment would be congruent with Tony's self-assessment – even if he knew Tony certainly still had a ways to go, but who was he to judge. The circus started before any more on the subject could be had.

The show was amusing enough, but Clint and Pietro seemed to get the most out of it. Bruce thought it was nice how Clint could still be attached to the concept even after his past. He also got the idea that Pietro was the one that had won out any debate with his sister on where to go on their first outing since he was practically gushing over it while Wanda only seemed to be marginally entertained.

He was about to lean over and suggest to Tony they give her a choice of where they would eat after the circus, but then he noticed her face darken and her hands open and close, clenching. Bruce looked up and he had to admit he didn't react much better. They had brought several lions into the cage and Bruce could tell that what to others might look like animals eager to perform for the trainer was actually fear driving them. It was pure, unadulterated cruelty. Animals weren't meant to perform like this, to be on display, to be abused and whipped and cajoled.

He sucked in a deep breath at the reminder, not of his own humiliation and inhumane treatment, but at the reminder of man's cruelty and desire to subjugate the earth, to dominate and lord over everything and everyone, fellow man included. These were dangerous thoughts as they usually led to thinking of _him_. They led to the thoughts that fueled his anger and gave the Other Guy every reason to want to become a savage beast that attacks without stopping to discern who is innocent and who is cruel, a savage beast that feels justified in fighting violence and stupidity with more violence.

Suddenly it dawned on him that he wasn't the only one that had been the victim of inhumane treatment. He might not know the extent of it, but it wasn't hard to guess the experiments had been terrible. Fury had implied as such and it must have been bad if Tony had decided he couldn't even talk about it to him.

He looked over sharply just in time to see Wanda's face set like stone, eyes glaring darkly at the cage, and attempting to shimmy off her bracelets without being noticed.

"Tony, we need to get Wanda out of here," Bruce muttered quickly.

Tony snapped his attention away from the performance to look at his daughter. He then looked back at him with wide eyes and started to say something before his face became urgent with concern. "You… You need to get out of here too, Bruce. You look…" He wrenched his face up a little and tilted his head to say what he meant without words. His eyes were likely green, the Other Guy already at the surface without his having even realized it was happening.

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Good idea. It's the… It's the cage," he mumbled and he could see the way the gears clicked behind Tony's eyes. Bruce stood to his feet as calmly as he could and took advantage of the Hulk awake in his subconscious to attempt reaching out to him in this state. _Not now, please. This is horrible, but please not now. Wanda is hurting. We need to help Wanda._   He looked down at the girl, seemingly unaware of anything but her anger toward the animal trainers. "Wanda," he said her name and she startled. He carefully reached out his hand. "I think we shouldn't be in here right now," he said calmly and, to his relief, with his own voice.

"Go with him, Wanda," Tony said and Bruce saw the questioning looks from Clint and Natasha.

Wanda looked thoroughly chastised by Tony's simple command, but stood up just the same. Bruce quickly led her out of the tent and away to a clear area nearby.

"It's not fair!" she screeched and ripped away from his hand once they were alone.

"I know it's not," Bruce said evenly. "It's not. What happened to you, what happened to me, what's happening to those creatures in there, none of it is fair."

Wanda clenched her fists again and then defiantly took off her bracelets, stuffing them in her pockets. "Then I'm going to teach them a lesson." Her hands started to glow red and her eyes started to take on an unearthly glaze.

" _Wanda, don't!_ " he shouted with what was definitely not his voice alone and he looked down to see his hand tinged green for half a second before fading. He wished that hadn't happened, but at the moment it had done the trick. Maybe it had been Hulk's way of helping, he mused for only a second before turning his attention solely to the girl. Wanda was frozen, looking at him with wide eyes that seemed torn between fear and wonder.

He took a deep breath and hurried to kneel down in front of her. "I know it's not fair," he said gently, "but if you go in there you could be hurt." God, he couldn't let that happen. Tony would be devastated. He would be too.

"I'm strong enough," Wanda protested.

"Even if your powers are strong enough, other people in that tent don't have your powers," he pointed out. "And they're innocent, Wanda. They're innocent. I know… I know it's hard to accept. Because they don't know any better. They think it's fun to watch and they don't care or realize what's happening. But they don't understand it like we do. And… And…" He sighed and realized there was no denying the truth anymore, about himself or his alter ego. Hulk was reactionary. That didn't make him a beast that only had savage instinct. "If you were to do something and those lions were to escape, they wouldn't know any better either. They might hurt and kill because they're just afraid. They're afraid."

"You're afraid," Wanda said weakly.

"Of hurting people? Yeah, yes. I am," he replied. "I don't want to hurt anyone, Wanda. And I'm sure you don't either. It isn't the answer." Bruce looked over and saw Tony had followed and was hovering without interfering, his suitcase of armor in hand just in case. He sighed and decided to take a chance. "Read my mind, Wanda."

"What?" She looked at him in confusion.

"I know that right now you're hurting and you just want it to stop and you want to use your powers. So… I'm trusting you not to misuse them on me," he said and he knew that Tony heard because he moved a few steps forward in obvious protest. He reached for Wanda's hands and brought them to his head. "I'm trusting you. But I have to warn you, it's not pretty in there. I… I hope this doesn't hurt you," he said honestly and started to have second thoughts.

"Bruce," Tony finally warned, but it was too late.

Bruce winced at the sudden onslaught of pain and memories as he felt an intrusive throbbing in his head. He began breathing raggedly as harried glimpses of his past flashed before his eyes. There was his father and his mother and Betty and running and pain and experimentation and anger and destruction and Tony falling to his death among other things that he could make out. And there was distant roaring in his ears. He could feel Wanda trembling as he held on to her arms loosely to brace her. He pleaded to anyone listening that the Hulk wouldn't feel threatened and come out.

Then suddenly there was warmth. Unexpected warmth. There was a memory of a distant lullaby and soothing words. There was Betty's smile, gentle and reassuring if a little faded and not quite what it used to be to him. Then there was Tony like a hurricane of warmth and grounding and reason. There was Tony and Hulk's knowing words and Wanda's clarity from that very first day at the children's home. There was Tony and Bruce was in love with him.

Finally she pulled away gasping and trembling harder and he worked to steady his breathing and quickly looked at his arms to make sure they weren't showing signs of transformation. Then he met Wanda's green eyes and wondered if his own were tinged green at all. He knew they were filled with tears if nothing else.

"How?" she cried and before he could blink she threw arms around him and buried her head against his chest in tears. "So much pain," she mumbled between sobs as he tried to soothe her. "How are you so strong?"

He was startled by the question even if Tony constantly told him he trusted Bruce's strength and control. This, this was a different question though or at least it struck him that way. This was a little girl in pain having just read his mind and having seen strength, not weakness, and suddenly he didn't know what to do with himself.

He was a well of anger. He was always angry or so he had once thought before Tony had started to break through that with other emotions he'd forgotten about. And now Wanda had looked into his mind and there had been other memories so anger alone couldn't have been what he'd survived on, could it have been? Was it only the anger that made him strong against the pain?

He wasn't sure he had an answer for her until there were two arms wrapped around him and Wanda and again there was warmth and grounding and reason. And love.

"I-I…" Bruce said with a shaky sigh, "I guess there's more than just pain there. I just forgot. Thank you for reminding me."

Wanda hugged him tighter and nodded against his chest. Bruce hoped that there were at least some good memories for Wanda somewhere in her past and if not, it was all the more reason for him to help Tony fight to give her good memories for the future. And maybe he should stop pretending that he didn't want to be part of that future in a very specific way.

***

"I can't believe you let her in like that," Tony said gently.

Bruce's head was in his lap as they watched one of their favorite movies on Tony's couch. It had surprised him when Bruce had folded in on himself and shifted into this position, but Tony hadn't made any comment. Rather he'd taken to lazily carding his fingers through the physicist's hair soothingly. Bruce had been a little on edge since the circus and needed to relax, needed comfort. Tony was more than okay with helping him. He should probably feel a little guilty with how okay he was with it.

Bruce hummed lazily, not replying in any other way for a moment.

"I'm still a little surprised too," he finally replied. "But she needed the vote of confidence I think. I know what that's like," he said and Tony looked down, craning his neck slightly, to see the twist of his lips into a smile. "I just wish she didn't have to see what she saw. She's so young. She doesn't need to have other people's burdens in addition to her own. I can't imagine having that power, you know?"

Tony considered it for a moment. "Yeah, there's a million ways that could go wrong. I can see why she'd get the urge to abuse it and her other powers. That's…definitely a terrible privilege."

"I think she'll be okay," Bruce said. "But I think you're right to want to bring them to the tower and help them with that. From what Clint was saying at dinner, they don't have a lot of chances to really use them appropriately even at the home. Seems counterproductive and today proved the bracelets aren't a failsafe. The temptation to take them off, well…" His sentence trailed.

Tony didn't reply. Instead they passed a few long moments just watching the film, if either of them were really paying attention to it.

"What about you?" he finally asked. "You said quite a few things to Wanda today."

"I did," Bruce admitted in a hushed tone. "I don't know how it happened, but I'm starting to understand some things about… about myself and the Other Guy. It's complicated and I still don't understand everything, but I can't deny what you've said about the Hulk just feeling like a hunted animal. He retaliates against his fear and mine, I think. When… When Wanda was in my mind, she showed me that there isn't just anger there. So maybe I've got it all wrong."

"Or maybe you were just missing a variable," Tony suggested and Bruce hummed. "Maybe you just need to figure out a way to reach out to the Hulk. Show him not everybody wants to hurt him." He felt Bruce stir a little against him, not quite a flinch but close. He looked down curiously.

"I… I can." Bruce shifted upwards and looked at Tony with a tentative albeit serious expression. "I can sometimes reach out to the Hulk. In my mind. We can converse."

"Seriously?" Tony could hardly believe it. "Like, actual conversation with the Big Guy? I know he can talk, but you can talk to him without transforming?"

Bruce nodded. "If I go deep enough, like a really deep trance or… maybe even if he wakes up enough to listen without pushing, not sure on that one yet," Bruce said. "It's odd, but I can do it. I've been able to for a while. I learned it in British Columbia, but I rarely used that trick because I didn't want anything to do with him. It was better for me to just keep him… caged." Bruce hung his head. "But I've been talking to him more since… since this whole thing started. Finding out about your kids. I needed to find out if I could stick around and help you without any threat."

Tony knew his mouth was hanging open rather unattractively, or attractively depending on one's imagination, but what Bruce was saying was breathtaking and confusing all at once.  

"Wow," Tony said with a broad smile. "Wow, Bruce. This is… This is amazing." He saw Bruce's face fall slightly and it wasn't hard to guess why.

"Tony," Bruce started tentatively, "I hope this doesn't change things between us. I think... I think I want to find a way to make peace with the Other Guy, honestly, but it's still an overwhelming process. And one that still dredges up a lot bad things for me. Please don't… push."

"Hey, I didn't mean amazing as in I'm going to get any ideas to, you know, make you test this or whatever," he said as gently as possible. "It's your business. I'm just awed by it and glad you trust me enough to share that with me. But, you know, if you do ever decide you want to test it or need my support, I'm here, Bruce," he offered just in case.

The relief that flooded Bruce's features was heartbreaking because Tony knew why he was so quick to worry about that kind of thing in the first place. "Thanks," the physicist mumbled.

"No, thank you," Tony countered. "Because you chose to reach out to the Hulk for me and for my kids. Kind of seems like you care a little," he said teasingly, but he wanted nothing more than to lean forward and cup Bruce's face. He startled slightly when he realized he _was_ starting to inch forward against his own volition. "You still look like a stressed mess," he murmured, as if that was the plan all along.

Bruce smiled thinly. "Flatterer."

Tony maybe smiled too broadly and leaned back. "Do you want me to make you some tea while you just lay here and relax?"

Bruce scrunched his face like he was considering the proposition and a little like he was wrestling with himself. He saw him take a deep breath. "Actually," his tone was tentative, "I was good where I was at." Tony furrowed his brow for half a second before his brain caught up. He gestured with a nod toward himself and the physicist slowly moved back into a lying position with his head in Tony's lap again. "Thanks," he said earnestly. "This just… This feels safe. I need this right now."

Tony couldn't argue when his stomach did a somewhat juvenile flip at hearing Bruce say this felt safe. He wanted nothing more than for Bruce to feel safe with him. So he didn't press for details and began to card his fingers through Bruce's hair again. Bruce seemed to practically melt into his touch and Tony practically melted with him.

*

Tony couldn't fight a smile as Pietro and Wanda practically flew around the toy store in a state of ecstasy. He knew if Pietro didn't have his bracelets on, he'd quite literally be zooming around the store. He was already bouncing quickly from one thing to another as it was, exclaiming his awe over it all.

"This turned out to be a good idea," Bruce said when they finally stopped rushing around the store letting the twins pick out this and that. Now Pietro and Wanda were making their final decisions on what they wanted Tony to buy for them. "I thought maybe it would be too materialistic, but I guess they're just kids."

"I know it doesn't fix things, but they deserve to have nice things. I _want_ them to have nice things," Tony said, trying to explain it.

"I know," Bruce said in a tone that suggested he understood. "Your motivation is right. You're not trying to buy them. You're buying for them." Tony smiled and went back to watching Pietro and Wanda try to narrow it down (not that Tony didn't want to or couldn't buy them everything, he just knew he should probably be practical for the time being - and he'd be lying if he said that wasn't Bruce's suggestion more than his own).

Every now and then the twins would pick something and hold it up for approval. And not just Tony's approval, at least not in Wanda's case, because she would wait for Bruce to smile, nod, anything and he could tell the physicist was a little surprised by that. Of course, Tony also suspected it made him feel a little warm inside too because he had a look on his face that spoke volumes. It was enamored and pleased and almost jealous, like maybe he wished these kids were his. Tony knew from a conversation they'd once had that Bruce had always wanted kids of his own.

"She's really opening up to you, isn't she?" Tony commented softly. It was just the two of them, as Clint was putting their selections into a shopping bag as they chose – and warning them off things that wouldn't be appropriate at the home – but he didn't want to chance the kids overhearing and becoming uncomfortable.

"I… I don't know," Bruce hesitated. "Maybe a little."

"Hmm," Tony hummed, "I think maybe more than a little. I'd maybe be jealous my kid likes you more than me, but honestly I'm okay with it." Bruce looked at him strangely. "If she trusts you, that's a good thing. She needs that."

"She doesn't like me more than you, Tony," Bruce insisted. "But that was sweet. You're already a good papa, did you know that?"

Tony smiled and looked at him gratefully. For all of his confidence, this was one of those things his ego needed to hear on a regular basis. Something told him Bruce knew that. He'd probably need it too if their positions were reversed. So Tony returned the sentiment regardless of the fact that they weren't.

"So are you," he said and Bruce blinked in surprise. "I can tell."

Tony kept his eyes locked on Bruce's and smiled reassuringly. Nothing in the world could convince him Bruce wouldn't be a wonderful father. He'd make a wonderful, maybe even better, father for Pietro and Wanda. This went beyond that papa bear moment back at SHIELD nearly a month prior. This was him seeing sides of Bruce he'd never seen before and feeling like it was a privilege. Feeling like—

"Tony…" Bruce started and it sounded unsure, but then there was the interruption of the twins bounding over, Clint in tow.

In addition to the bag of things, Pietro had an expensive handheld gaming system in his hand and Wanda had a book that looked about as big as her. He realized almost immediately it was Harry Potter.

"That's an excellent series," Bruce encouraged. "You haven't read it before?" Tony was just as curious.

"The teacher read some of it to us in class," she said with a shrug. "We didn't finish it and I want to read them all. We have two of the movies at the home."

"Probably something to do with age appropriateness," Clint supplied with a shrug. "That home only has kids under 12 so they have to accommodate accordingly. I _am_ a little surprised they don't have any of the books though," he said in an earnest tone.

"We did," Pietro chimed in. "But the older kids kept fighting over them and then one of the little kids asked if Wanda was a witch that would hex everyone so they got taken away."

"Huh." Tony didn't know what to do with that other than feel a little angry on her behalf. "So you got the whole series in there, right?" Wanda's eyes brightened and she nodded. "Good because you can have the whole series."

Wanda gave a considering look and Tony had a feeling she had something she wanted to say, but wasn't quite sure how or maybe she was afraid. "Will the books go to the tower?"

"Well, if they were banned from the home then that's probably going to be a yes," Clint was the one to answer that question.

"Oh." Then her lips quirked in a way that Tony couldn't read. "Then I'll have to go to the tower too," she declared.

Bruce's eyes widened, Clint stiffened and Pietro seemed ready to protest. Tony, meanwhile, was stunned. He hoped that all of this hadn't come across as an elaborate attempt to bribe them into coming into his home.

"Wanda, you don't have to come to the tower if you don't want to," he found his voice again. "There's no pressure here. If you want to visit, you can, but I can also bring the books when we get together," Tony offered.

To his surprise Wanda's face fell as though she'd just been rejected and she took a small step back with the book in hand. She kept her eyes locked on the cover. "Oh. Okay. I guess that's fine too."

Bruce nudged Tony and he looked at him for some help because he was more than a little confused on how to read this particular response. Bruce, on the other hand, looked as though he was resisting bringing his palm to his face. Rather than do that the physicist nodded his head toward Wanda and mouthed very slowly, "She wants to."

Tony's eyebrows shot up and he looked back at Wanda. _Of course_. She was trying to find an excuse to come without bringing up the subject directly. He cleared his throat and said, "But you know, I'd still love to have you guys at the tower. That hasn't changed. Books or no books."

Wanda perked up immediately, proving the theory correct. Pietro still looked uncertain.

"I thought maybe you changed your mind," she said.

"Are you kidding?" Tony smiled wide at her. "If anything, I think it'd be even cooler if you were there now that we've hung out a bit. We can pimp out your room. There's bowling and a media room and all kinds of stuff I'd love to share with you. You'd love it. It's Candyland."

Bruce snorted softly. "He's right. It really is." Tony looked at him to see him smiling, but then his smile faded and when Tony followed his line of sight he saw that his kids were looking at each other in confusion.

"What's Candyland?" Wanda asked.

"Is it like Disneyland with candy?" Pietro asked hopefully. "Can we go there?"

"That's a terrifying thought," Bruce muttered under his breath in Tony's ear and Tony tried not to laugh as he had a sudden frightful image of Pietro in an actual land made of candy, or even a candy store.

"Jeez, Clint," Tony said instead, with a scowl aimed at the archer. "Do these kids not even have board games at that place? What the hell is Fury trying to do? Turn them into drones?"

Clint sighed. "Look, guys. The home has to operate like any other home. Any random inspection by the city wouldn't bode well if the place was filled to the brim with tech and toys on the measly budget the State typically offers these places. SHIELD does what it can, but mostly we're just there to keep the officials from poking their noses into places they don't belong. We're there to keep the kids safe and in some cases anonymous. That's where the resources are allotted on our end."

"I don't know if that's good or bad," Bruce said thoughtfully.

"I don’t know either, but it _is_ sad," Tony replied. "So philanthropist Tony Stark is going to make a charitable donation of board games to all children homes in Manhattan. Starting with theirs," he said and whipped out his wallet.

After about five minutes in line, the twins – or more accurately Pietro – got restless and so Clint and Bruce herded them off to play in the toy store some more while Tony finished up. It was probably a good thing too since it took about ten minutes alone just to try and get the stunned cashier to help him with his order and another ten to get a manager to come take his bulk order for board games and instructions that he'd have an email of the locations they should be delivered to at his expense sent later.  

When he finally found Pietro again he was with Clint at an arcade style Ms. Pac Man machine. He didn't seem to want to stop playing. "I would be better without the stupid bracelets," he said when he got eaten by another ghost. "I'm really good at video games because I can slow things down with my mind when I'm going fast enough."

"This I've got to see," Tony said earnestly and Pietro stopped playing to look up at him hopefully. Clint on the other hand gave him a look that said, 'no.' "Oh, come on. You know you're curious."

Clint sighed. "Yeah, I am," he admitted. He then looked around. "Okay, kid, here's the deal," he said and Pietro looked over at him. Clint lifted his wrist and touched his watch. "You get thirty seconds. You can take them off for thirty seconds to play uninhibited, okay? I'm trusting you, kid. Don't make me regret this."

"Relax, Barton," Tony placed a hand on Pietro's shoulder. "He'll be good. Won't you?"

"Promise," Pietro said with a nod.

"Call me crazy," Clint said, "but I don't know how much I trust the word of a kid with _your_ genetic code, Stark."

"Haha," Tony deadpanned. "Just trust him. He doesn't misuse his powers at school does he?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Clint answered with a shrug.

"I don't!" Pietro said defensively. Tony felt his muscles tense. "Wanda says if we don't behave they might take us away and hurt us again. And I won't let that happen to her. I try my best to behave so she'll be safe."

Tony flinched at his conviction and saw Clint pale. He squeezed Pietro's shoulder. He wanted them to not misuse their powers because it was the right thing to do or because they knew they could be trusted rather than out of fear, but he knew that might be a slow going process. Until then he could appreciate Pietro's concern for his sister.

"You're a really wonderful brother, Pietro. Wanda is lucky to have you, kiddo."

"Yeah, kid. What your da—Tony said," Clint tripped on his words. Over the course of the past few weeks the twins had yet to really call him dad, or even did they rarely call him Tony; most of the time it was just 'he' or 'you.' "So, thirty seconds. Are you ready?"

Pietro nodded and started a new game. He didn't slip off his bracelets before Clint started his stopwatch, but then suddenly Tony looked down to see the bracelets had been shoved into the hand that had been on Pietro's shoulder, now down at his side. He looked at Pietro's hand on the controller and it was like a blur. He then looked at the score on the machine to see it racking up points and levels faster than he could blink, almost before he could even process if not not for his own gradual mental adjustment to mach speeds in the suit. Then Clint called time and Pietro turned to beam up at him. Tony blinked when he saw the bracelets back on the boy's wrists.

"Damn," Clint said in regards to the score.

"Oh we are so putting this in the tower," Tony said in awe. "I'm definitely buying this too. I'll have JARVIS order it later." He then looked at his watch. "Alright, if we're going to get something to eat before getting you back, we need to get going."

"Okay," Pietro said with a shrug. "Where's Wanda?" he then asked, looking around.

Tony smiled at Pietro's protective streak. "Dunno. Let's go find her," he suggested and soon the three of them were wandering through the toy store in search of the girl, who was with Bruce wherever she was.

Upon finding them Tony stopped in his tracks and felt his heart melt at the sight. They were in the scientific exploration section and like most of the sections, there were hands on exhibits. Bruce was leading an experiment with a group of kids, including Wanda. He looked happy and in his element while the children watched on or helped with wide eyes and wonder written all over their faces. As the experiment finished with a success and all of the children cheered Bruce smiled especially at Wanda who smiled back earnestly and Tony wanted nothing more than to make the moment last forever.

This was it. This was what he'd been missing. And Wanda was right. He was head over heels in love with Bruce Banner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. So. In case it wasn't clear, when Wanda said "You are in love with him" in Chapter 4, both Bruce and Tony thought she meant him.  
> 2\. So. As said, this isn't a long story so a lot of stuff happens off screen and there are time jumps and uneven (and far too quick) development. I really am sorry. It was my love for my cousin alone that made me finish this thing and not just give up on it so...sorry if it reads like I just wanted to get through it :/  
> 3\. Shout out to X-Men films' Peter with the Ms. Pac Man.   
> 4\. May be 1-2 days longer than usual before posting next chapter since I'm working on 3 things right now, two that I'd very much like done by Sunday so free time will be given to that (and it takes me a minute to upload chapters for a few reasons).


	6. Chapter 6

"You weren't kidding about Candyland after all, Stark," Clint called across the gym on the first training floor where he was busy shooting hoops; Bruce sometimes laughed a little over the fact that basketball was one of Tony's ideas of training. He'd said something about keeping it fun. "I think I'm going to move in here pronto."

"Well, you have a floor ready whenever you are," Tony called back over from where he sat at a state-of-the-art weight machine with all the bells and whistles. "Besides, won't you have to be here anyways, Mr. Handler?"

"Dunno," Clint called back. "I don't know how it works if Fury approves your request."

"You mean _when_ , Barton," Tony called back with a grunt of exertion. "My team's already got all of the paperwork together so he knows I'm not backing down on this."

"Hmm," Bruce interrupted their noisy back and forth with a hum. "Here I thought this would be a nice, quiet place to do some relaxing yoga."

He smirked and opened his eyes mid crane pose only to nearly lose his balance when he was reminded of one of the very subjective reasons he'd chosen to do yoga in this particular spot. After all, if he enjoyed the sight of Tony Stark sweaty and flexing his engineer muscles, well, he was only as human as the rest of the planet. Maybe the man wasn't Thor or Steve, but Bruce could admit privately that he was partial.

Tony stopped his workout and leaned forward to grab his water bottle and a towel as he looked at Bruce. Bruce attempted to look like he was only a casual inhabitant of the room as he moved to a warrior pose.

"I think we all know why you're here, Brucey," Tony said with a broad smile. Bruce remained impassive, but a little part of him wondered if he'd been too obvious finally. "You're trying to seduce me with your flexibility and nylon."

Bruce nearly choked on air and again fought to remain stable. He considered his options and then, maybe a little to his own surprise, went with, "If I was trying to seduce you I would be wearing my other yoga pants and doing poses like the _Adho Mukha Shvanasana_."

Behind him Clint's basketball met with the backboard and it clearly bounced a few times before rolling to a stop. But Bruce's focus was too much on Tony at the moment to care. He suddenly felt reckless and maybe a little inclined to play up Tony's joke, but it could be the way Tony's eyes studied him with a dark interest that maybe didn't make sense but made Bruce shiver just the same.

"What's… add muck whatever you called it?" Tony asked gracelessly and dryly.

Bruce debated for a few seconds before taking a leaf out of Tony's book and going all in. He shrugged nonchalantly and then turned in the opposite direction, for full effect. He took a deep breath and situated himself on his hands and knees and then slowly moved into the well-known downward facing dog position. He thought he heard a faint, strangled noise, but it could have been his imagination. He tucked his head wishing he could actually see Tony's reaction from this angle.

"What the hell," Clint muttered. "There is no way you two aren't fucking."

Bruce's breath hitched, but he exhaled in a manner that hopefully suggested he was only maintaining his breathing in the pose. "We're really not," he said as evenly as he could.

"Maybe not," Tony was suddenly at his side and then Bruce was startled by a foreign weight, "but I'm good and seduced now if you want to change that."

Bruce extended one arm and craned his neck to look up at the engineer dubiously, glad the exertion of the pose could account for his flushed skin. "Are you using my ass as an arm rest?"

"Object?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Leave it to Tony to take it from kinky to a Title VII lawsuit waiting to happen," Clint retorted.

"Okay, I'm going to leave the room," Pepper's voice sounded from the door as her heels sounded against the hardwood, "and when I come back I'm going to pretend like nobody here mentioned sexual harassment." They came to a stop nearby. "Tony, please remove your arm from Dr. Banner's butt," she said in an exasperated tone.

"You suck the fun out of everything," Tony said petulantly, but moved. Bruce was grateful to return to a sitting position on his knees. "And stop staring at me like I just assaulted him. That was totally a no homo thing between bros. Right, Bruce?" Bruce wasn't sure he had an answer.

"Yeah, like Banner discreetly checking you out while you were bench pressing, what, ten pounds tops?" Clint teased and Bruce looked at him with wide eyes.

"See," Tony said with a flippant shrug, but Bruce thought he detected a minute stutter of his quick brain, "no homo."

Pepper just snorted loudly. "Right. I'll believe that when the both of you are actually straight. So, never."

"Alright so it was bromo?" Tony tried again, his face scrunched in a considering expression.

"I don't care what it was," Pepper said pointedly. "I'm here because we need to talk about the media circus surrounding your little outing last weekend." She pushed a StarkPad into Tony's hands. Bruce stood up to look at it over his shoulder. There were several photos and gossip articles revolving around Tony and the twins. And a few shots of himself and Clint as well. "The press is demanding to know why Tony Stark was seen in public with two kids and if it has anything to do with the anonymous donation of board games to foster homes and orphanages all over the city."

"I'd say that second one is pretty easy conjecture. It doesn't even warrant a statement."

"No," Pepper agreed, "but the other thing does. How you move forward here is very crucial, Tony. You're considering filing for custody and that's going to hit the press whether you like it or not. Are those kids ready? Are _you_ ready? Everything you say or do publicly from here on out could affect whether or not a judge grants your petition. The fact that you're their natural father doesn't mean a thing."

Bruce was standing close enough that he felt Tony flinch and he looked at Pepper with a small frown. He hated to admit that she was right, but she was right. This was the dodgy part. This was where the real world and how things normally proceeded clashed with how their screwed up lives worked. Tony with his past reputation alone was a hard sell for some, although his money and legal team could work around that probably.

"How long can we maintain camp silence?" Tony asked.

"I don't know," Pepper said with a small shake of her head. "Maybe two weeks. Three if we play the privacy card and let the media draw whatever conclusions it wants until you set them straight. We're looking at pressure from the Board though when those conclusions start being drawn."

Tony nodded. "The Board is inconsequential. We can deal with them later. I'm going to stay silent on this for as long as possible. When we have a clearer picture of what's going to happen, what Wanda and Pietro want, then we'll prepare a statement for the press."

If Pepper thought it was the wrong call, she didn't say otherwise. She just nodded, took the StarkPad back and said, "I'll let PR know the plan." Then she left again.

Tony turned to look at him with a sigh. "What if it all falls apart, Bruce?" he asked in an almost despondent tone. "What if… I'm fooling myself? They haven't even gotten here yet and it's already a mess."

Bruce wanted to wrap his arms around Tony, run his fingers soothingly through his hair, say or do anything to reassure him that it would be okay and remind him he wasn't alone. "It's not a mess, Tony," he settled for. "It just might be a little harder than you anticipated. But I know you. You're not going to give up. Especially not now." Tony looked at him with an intense gaze and Bruce wanted nothing more than to accentuate his conviction with a kiss.

"I think it's the right call, sir," Clint said and Bruce furrowed his brow. He and Tony both turned to see the archer was at the far end of the gym on his phone. Clint glanced toward them and then looked down. "I'll talk to them tonight, but if they still say yes, I don't think it would be a good idea to try and stop this from happening."

Bruce smiled when he realized what Clint was talking about. He was glad Tony had somebody else in his corner.

*

"This is it, Bruce," Tony said, practically bouncing on his toes, as they stood outside of the tower waiting for Clint to arrive with the twins.

Fury had settled it, through whatever means he had to make the home look on the up and up, for Tony to finally get probationary custody of them. Thus, Tony had spent the last few days, since it had been deemed best for them to come after school on a Friday as opposed to the middle of the week, preparing for their arrival with all the nervous energy to be expected of a new father with no real clue what he's doing. Bruce had spent the last few days trying to get him to focus and helping him decorate a kid's room and even taking him to the local market because he knew for a fact Tony's cupboards were definitely not ready for two kids. It had been an adventure to say the least and now Tony was about to spontaneous combust from the anticipation. Bruce had to admit as involved as he'd been in all of this from the start he was more than a little excited in his own way.

"Don't overdo it," Bruce warned with a chuckle. "You might scare them off."

Tony scoffed and threw his arm around his shoulders. "Didn't scare _you_ off." He grinned a little manically at him.

Bruce folded his arms. "Yeah, well, hopefully your children are saner than I am."

"What? No." Tony jostled his shoulders slightly. "Why would I want that?"

Bruce opened his mouth to state several reasons why when Clint pulled up in a nondescript vehicle in one of the valet spots. Tony squeezed his shoulders in a sort of sideways hug and then let go to go open the back door. Pietro emerged first, followed by Wanda. The trunk opened and Bruce made himself useful in grabbing some of their luggage. Tony followed suit, collecting the rest.

"Natasha's on her way with most of our things," Clint said as he shut the trunk. "So I'm going to hang back here and wait for her." They were moving in as well and to Bruce's understanding when Steve returned from a quick trip to D.C. he would be moving in too. Bruce had a few suspicions that it was a fail safe on Fury's behalf so the kids wouldn't be completely away from more responsible, perhaps loyal, SHIELD allies.

"We'll meet you on the common floors," Tony told him with a nod, "and then I'll show you to your apartments, help you set up your private access codes for them and all that fun stuff." Then he looked at the twins with a broad smile. "Alright, lady and gentleman, Candyland awaits."

Bruce shook his head fondly at Tony's theatrics as they moved into the building, past the front desk, and turned down a hall that, although it looked to anyone else like it was meant for things such as storage or maintenance, led to a special access door that then led to another short hall that led to the private elevator – which also required a special access code to get into. In addition to that level of security the private apartments weren't labeled and needed additional access codes in order to be taken to them without request through JARVIS and clearance permitted from the other side. Bruce thought Tony might have overdone it a little in his quest to keep everything private and need-to-know basis, but then again it _was_ Tony.

"It sure takes a lot to get on an elevator," Wanda seemingly agreed. 

"I think it's super cool," Pietro said. "Like we're spies. Are we going to go all the way to the top?" he then asked in a curious tone as he bounced on his toes; Bruce chuckled at how he thrummed with the same boundless energy as Tony and imagined that would likely be the case with _out_  powers.

"Not quite," Tony answered him. "But eventually. You'll get to see all of the awesome things the tower has soon enough."

"Uh," Bruce started to protest, "you don't think some areas might be a little inappropriate for children?"

"Like where?" Tony quizzed.

"Well a lab full of hazardous chemicals and equipment for one," Bruce offered.

Wanda gasped and suddenly held on tightly to her brother's arm. She looked around the elevator like it was closing in on her. Bruce's eyes widened.

"JARVIS, let us out on the next floor," Bruce told the AI.

"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied and within a few seconds the doors flew open onto the Avengers reception area. He grabbed their luggage and moved it into the space before turning to see Wanda still frozen.

"Wanda," Bruce said gently, "let's get out of the elevator." Tony was looking at him with wide, panicked eyes and confusion. "It's okay," Bruce said, locking eyes with the engineer so he knew he meant that for him just as much Wanda. He then looked back down at Wanda. "You're safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you. We don't use our labs for anything but helping people. We would never—"

"Oh god," Tony said, his worried paternal brain catching up finally. "Wanda, we would never do that to you. Come on, sweetheart. You heard, Bruce. Let's get out of the elevator. Pietro, help your sister, please."

Pietro nodded. "Come on, Wanda," he encouraged and started moving with her from the elevator. "We're safe. Let's go." Bruce could see she was trembling and Pietro looked pale, but seemed to be putting on a brave face for his sister's sake.

Tony crouched down in front of her. "Hey, it's okay. You heard Pietro. You're safe. I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you again." Bruce felt his heart clench a little, as his pessimism spiked. It was such an easy promise to make, but just as easily broken. He wasn't sure if that's what Wanda needed or not.

Tony tentatively reached out a hand and touched the side of her head in a soothing manner and Wanda froze. Then she melted into the touch and started sobbing.

"C… C-can you braid my hair?" she asked between her sobs. "Please?"

Tony looked up at Bruce in confusion and then back at Wanda as he stroked her hair. "I'm still not very good."

She choked on her tears. "Coul… Coulson," she said and shook her head.

"Agent Coulson used to braid her hair when she got like this," Pietro supplied in a despondent and clearly helpless tone.

Bruce felt his heart break for the little girl. "I can," he offered before he could think twice about it. She looked up at him with her teary eyes and quivering lip and his heart broke a little more for all the reasons she had this pain. "I… I used to braid my cousin's hair sometimes," he explained. "And my… friend Betty's."

Tony spared a glance at him and then asked, "Is it okay if Bruce braids your hair this time? Huh?"

Wanda nodded and they led her over to the one of the couches. Bruce sat down at an angle and she sat down in a similar fashion. He ran his fingers through her hair a few times in lieu of a comb and then gently and slowly began braiding her hair, focusing on the methodical movement that he guessed must be soothing to her, probably a little like he'd felt when Tony had been carding his fingers through his hair the night following the circus.

"Do you have any hair ties in your luggage?" he asked her as he neared the end.

She sniveled and nodded. Then before he could ask Tony to fish one out for him, Wanda slipped off her bracelets and Bruce paused his movements in slight awe as she used her telekinesis to bring her small butterfly pillow backpack over to them. She pulled one out and handed it to him over her shoulder.

"Normal people aren't able to do that," she said as he finished her braid.

"But awesome people can," Tony tried.

"Do you want to be normal?" Bruce asked. Maybe she just wanted someone to validate her feelings. He'd once been a kid that had wanted his feelings of inadequacy and strangeness, the scars of what his father had done to him, listened to by people who actually cared about him.

She turned on the couch and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I don't know," she answered. "I… like having my powers."

"I do too," Pietro chimed in from where he stood beside Tony.

"Of course you do," Wanda said snidely to him. Bruce could tell she was calming down. "You don't have to worry about hurting anyone."

"Well, you have way more powers than I do," Pietro pointed out. "That's not fair."

"Because I'm smarter than you," she said smugly.

"I'm smart too," Pietro said huffily and crossed his arms. "How come nobody ever thinks I'm smart?"

"Hate to break it to you, kiddo, but girls rarely think boys are smart," Tony said melodramatically. Bruce snorted. "Your sister's just being..." he looked at her purposely, "...normal."

"I am?" Wanda asked, looking up in a hopeful manner.

"Sure thing," Tony said as he walked over a little closer. He looked back and forth between his kids. "Just like you two bickering and picking on each other. Totally normal sibling behavior. Ah… Well, I assume. I was an only child. But I hear that's what it's like." He shrugged.

"Jen and I bicker and pick on each other," Bruce offered. "My cousin that is," he clarified to the set of confused faces.

"Just because you have powers doesn't mean you can't be normal," Tony said. "Thing is, everybody's unique. I didn't buy that back in the day either, but I've learned it's true. So you're normal, but you're also special. Just like me with this light in my chest," he said, tapping on it. "Or Bruce with his—" Bruce glared slightly. "Breathtakingly brilliant mind. That's what I was going to say, honest," he added and Bruce felt his chest tighten with warmth. Tony knew how he'd felt like a freak and not normal because of his genius as a kid so it felt like his using that specifically as his example was intentional.

"Or his Hulk!" Pietro exclaimed with an eager smile, reminding Bruce of Tony as he did.

Bruce chuckled in spite of his typical reaction to that sort of statement. "Or my Hulk," he acquiesced.

"Agents Barton and Romanov have arrived with their things," JARVIS said. "They are up in the common lounge and asking if everything is alright as you are not already there."

Wanda startled. "Who was that?"

"Tell them we'll be there in a minute, JARVIS. That was J—"

"Oh, it's JARVIS!" Wanda said eagerly.

Pietro titled his head sideways. "I thought JARVIS was on your phone," he said in a curious tone.

"He's here too," Tony explained with a smile. "Actually whither I go, he goes."

Bruce snorted. "They're practically married," he teased.

"Yes, it's true," Tony admitted in good humor. "But it's not _as of yet_ legal to marry an artificial intelligence so I'm still on the market." He winked at Bruce. Bruce rolled his eyes and secretly contemplated whether or not it was just Tony giving him a hard time because his crush was obvious or something else. "Either way I definitely can't live without JARVIS."

"I concur, sir. And may I welcome you to Stark Tower, Wanda and Pietro. I assure you that you will be quite safe here. That is barring mishaps caused by your father. _Some_ things are out of my control, I'm afraid."

And just like that any of the remaining tension dissipated into laughs and giggles.

***

"So…" Bruce spoke before Tony even had a chance to let him know he was there; it always seemed to be that way between them, Tony mused. "How did the first bedtime go?" Bruce turned away from whatever he was working on and looked at him with a thin smile.

It was getting to the ridiculous point where Tony's brain stuttered and he had to catch his breath when he first saw the man after any short time apart. Especially so when the physicist was down here in his element because he always had a sort of glow about him, or maybe Tony was imagining it.

"Uh," he tried to recover, "good. Good, I think. We read some Harry Potter."

"Aww, sorry I missed it," Bruce said earnestly.

"You could have joined us," Tony reminded him. He'd offered.

Bruce shook his head in slight disapproval. "They're _your_ kids, Tony. I—" Bruce started to say something else, but then got a look on his face as though he'd thought better of it. "They're wonderful and I love spending time with them, but you need to spend time with them by yourself. Especially now that they're here. Every little moment like that counts."

"I know." Tony sighed. "I guess this is one of those rare times I don't feel comfortable doing the lone wolf thing. You've been with me pretty much every step of the way so I'm not so sure I'm cut out for this single dad thing."

"You could join Match," Bruce suggested with a casual shrug and then turned back to his project.

Tony maybe wanted to blurt out, 'Why would I do that when you're already right here?'

There was no possible way Bruce hadn't picked up on all of Tony's obvious cues by now. Bruce's non-response had to be interpreted _as_ his response. He wasn't interested and Tony would have to figure out a way to go on dealing with his unrequited feelings until they faded or he found someone else – and the more time he spent with Bruce, especially now with the twins, the more that seemed impossible. It didn't seem to matter that Bruce had kissed him back. It didn't mean anything when he'd let Tony all but hold him and soothe away his tension. It was probably his fault for bantering with the man since it was asking for Bruce to banter back regardless of intent. Bruce simply wasn't interested.

"Tony… Tony? Hey, ground to Stark. Do you copy?" Tony suddenly blinked and processed the fact that Bruce had been trying to get his attention. "You were staring at me like I'm a ghost or something," Bruce said with a furrowed brow and took several steps toward him. "You okay?"

He couldn't very well admit that he was staring at Bruce like he was a ghost because he might as well be. A phantom he could see, get close to, but never close enough. Even Bruce probably had his limits with how far and how obviously Tony spewed his longing for him.

"I, uh," Tony shook his head, "was just thinking. Sorry. Didn't mean to unintentionally ogle you or anything."

"It wasn't that," Bruce said in soft amusement. "I was just a little concerned. Actually, I think you should probably go lie down. Get some rest. It's been a very big day and that was just the beginning. You'll need all your energy for two kids in the morning time," he teased gently.

"That's what coffee's for," Tony said with a frown.

"Huh-uh. Shoo," Bruce said and made a shooing gesture with his hands to emphasize his instruction. "Go to bed."

"But I wanted to play in the Happy Fun Time Place for a little bit," Tony protested even as he allowed Bruce to turn him around and playfully guide him toward the door. Until Bruce stopped sharply in place.

"No, we are not calling it _that_." Tony looked over his shoulder to see Bruce adamantly shaking his head. "I agree we'll need to come up with something else to call the labs, but definitely not that."

Tony sighed melodramatically. "You suck the fun out of everything."

"You're confusing me with Pepper," Bruce deadpanned. "Now, seriously, Tony. Rest."

"Wait, just…" Tony started urgently, but he wasn't quite sure what he should say or do. Bruce looked at him so expectantly that Tony had to say or do _something_. "Thank you," he went with. Bruce stared at him for a moment as if trying to parse his meaning. "For earlier," Tony clarified, "with Wanda. For… honestly, everything."

Bruce looked at him as though not sure how to respond. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. You decided I was worth having around before any of this came to light. You trusted me."

"It was more than that, Bruce," Tony told him honestly. "Don't put me on a pedestal because I treated you like a normal human being, which as previously established you are. I don't want that."

"I know," Bruce said with a small smile. "You want the same thing I do. To be treated like a normal human being. So what I mean is from one normal person to another, I'm just grateful for your friendship in the first place. I wouldn't be here to help if you hadn't let me in."

"Right. Our friendship," Tony replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "Then I guess what I really mean is thank you for sticking around and not making me regret that I did let you in."

Bruce nodded. "You're welcome," he conceded. "Now go to bed."

"Only if you do," Tony countered with a small smile as Bruce turned and walked back toward his project.

"Five more minutes, dad," Bruce called back teasingly.

"You heard him, JARVIS. Set the shutdown timer for five minutes. Good night, Bruce."

Bruce turned and nodded, smiling a little. "Good night, Tony."

Tony finally made himself leave the lab and return to his apartment. Once there he couldn't help giving into the ridiculous urge to check on his kids, to make sure they were still there and this wasn't all some strange dream and to make sure they were still safe although JARVIS would have alerted him if they weren't.

He gently cracked open their door and peeked in. To his surprise Wanda had moved from her bed to Pietro's and was curled up against his side. It tugged on his heart more than a little as he considered all the reasons they'd had to stick together over their short years. He didn't bother moving Wanda back to her own bed, merely let the sensation of paternal protectiveness and fondness wash over him before shutting the door again and going to bed.

*

Tony wrinkled his nose as the smell of sizzling bacon wafted through the room and tempted him awake. A smile touched his face even as he still laid there. Bruce was undoubtedly in the kitchen making breakfast for the both of them which was always a treat that Tony looked forward to. Then he frowned when he remembered Bruce didn't live in his apartment anymore. It was just him… and the twins!

His eyes flew open and he sat upright. In a flash he was out of bed and making sure he was decently dressed. "JARVIS, why didn't you wake me!?" Even if the kids knew what they were doing, he was pretty sure it was irresponsible to let two eight-year-olds attempt to cook breakfast unsupervised.

"Dr. Banner said you may wish to sleep a little longer," JARVIS answered calmly.

Tony stopped in his tracks and let out a deep breath of relief. Of course. Bruce still knew the access code to his apartment and must have let himself in to cook breakfast for them as a surprise. It was just like the man and once the initial worry passed, Tony smiled and properly got ready before going to join him.

Perhaps it wasn't the wisest course of action, or at least others would deem it not, but Tony decided to return the favor and startle Bruce. He waited until Bruce's hands were safely away from anything that might cause injury and then lightly trailed a finger up his spine.

Bruce practically squealed and jumped. "Shit," he cursed and turned around. His eyes weren't green, but they were certainly glaring when they came into focus. "You're lucky it's just you," Bruce said sternly. "I was five seconds away from letting Hulk out if it was even _potentially_ anybody else but you and the twins." Tony knew he meant he would let Hulk out to hurt who'd ever dared to trespass and risk their safety.

"And you're lucky JARVIS told me you were the one who broke into my apartment. I was five seconds away from calling the suit if it wasn't my kids attempting to make breakfast without my supervision," he said just as sternly.

They glared at each other for about thirty seconds before their lips began to twitch and they broke into laughter. Bruce shook his head and turned off the stove.

"I'm sorry," Tony said once he was able to regain his composure. "Didn't mean to scare you. Well, I did mean to startle you, but usually you know I'm coming."

"I guess my mind was somewhere else," Bruce said with a shrug. He finished shoveling scrambled eggs on to a large platter. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to worry you about your kids. Or break into your apartment. Well, I did mean to break and enter, but I had a good reason. I should have just asked, but I knew you'd still be asleep and I didn't think about it last night." He moved back to the stove and poured a helping of pancake batter into a skillet. "Sorry."

Tony went over and draped one arm around Bruce's shoulders and gave one a squeeze with his other hand. "You don't have to apologize. If I honestly cared about you breaking into my apartment, I would change the access code. You're more than welcome to sneak into my home to make…" He looked down at the skillet.

"Strawberries and cream pancakes," Bruce supplied. Tony felt like his smile might split his face and Bruce chuckled softly. "Figured with it being their first morning here they deserved to have an extra special breakfast."

"You're going to spoil them, Bruce," Tony said with a shake of his head. "They'll be severely disappointed with dad when he can't make a breakfast near as good as this one looks."

"You could always take lessons," Bruce suggested as he flipped the pancake.

"Only if you're the one _giving_ the lessons," he replied with a suggestive murmur.

"I…" Bruce's eyes went wide and he looked slightly flustered as he turned to look at Tony. It was definitely something Tony filed away to analyze later. Bruce then blinked a few times. "I, uh…" He licked his lips and Tony couldn't stop himself from tracking the motion. "Okay," he nodded slowly, "lesson one." He glanced down at the pancake, breaking the moment. "Grab a plate." He looked back with a small smirk.

"I don't know," Tony said as he moved to grab one, "seems a little hard. I may need hands on instruction." He was rewarded with an outright giggle from the man.

Bruce placed the pancake on the plate and then said, "Watch carefully." He poured a small bit of oil into the skillet. He then deliberately, and definitely a little impishly, poured a helping of pancake batter as slowly as possible into the skillet.

"Whoa now, speed demon," Tony teased. "You're going faster than Pietro. What comes before the pancake batter again?" Bruce gave an exaggerated sigh, but continued to walk him through the steps of not burning a pancake.

"I smell bacon!" Pietro said excitedly behind them and they both turned to see him and Wanda in the living area. Then in a blink, since Tony told them they didn't have to wear their bracelets in the tower, Pietro was at the breakfast bar eyeing the plate of eggs, plate of bacon, and bowl of fresh blueberries with a salivating expression.

Wanda walked over and stood beside Tony. She eyed the stove eagerly and then she looked up at him. "Can I make one? I've never made a pancake before." Tony certainly didn't want her to be like him, waiting until adulthood to learn how to make a pancake that wasn't microwavable, he mused.

Bruce seemed to agree. "Everyone should learn how to make a pancake," he said to her with a smile that made Tony smile too.

"I want to make one too!" Pietro was suddenly on the other side of Bruce.

"I asked first," Wanda argued.

"There's plenty of batter here for you both to make one," Bruce mediated. "And as it turns out, your dad is just the man to show you both how," he then said, much to Tony's alarm.

"Uh," Tony started to protest, but Bruce pushed the spatula into his hand. He even let his hand linger reassuringly. Then he took a step back and Tony watched him go, his lifeline abandoning him. Pietro immediately filled the space that Bruce had previously occupied and Tony looked back and forth between the twins' expectant faces.

"Time to strut, Tony," Bruce said in encouragement and Tony couldn't help but chuckle at the irony.

Tony turned back toward the stove. "Okay, first we put a little bit of oil in the skillet so the pancake doesn't stick. Wanda?" Wanda followed his instruction. "Next we put a scoop of the pancake batter in." She did that next. "Alright, I'll do this first one." He hoped he wouldn't burn it, but since he'd made a mental note of the approximate seconds when Bruce had made one it turned out alright in the end.

Behind him Bruce applauded and Tony turned and looked at him with a bemused twist of his face and raised eyebrow. "See, he's a pro," Bruce remarked.

"Well, I did have a good teacher," he retorted and then got back to passing along the lesson with a warm feeling in his chest.

Something about this morning felt like a turning point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Bruce Banner cooks and Tony can't cook, the old standby tropes. But my cousin wanted _desperately bad_ at cooking Tony. I said "I love Tony can't really cook as much as the next girl, but I think he was kidding about the 3 hours it took him to make the omelet. I'm sure he can cook some pancakes." To which my cousin replied along the lines of "Yeah of course he can. He can by Eggo pancakes. Bruce would never..." Me: "I love how so many of us just roll with Bruce being a good cook. Maybe he's horrible too. I mean I'm not going to stop using the trope, but maybe he's horrible."


	7. Chapter 7

Bruce felt his mind shift, a heavy push against his thoughts, as he meditated. So when the black began to bleed into green, he wasn't surprised.

_I was wondering if you'd feel like talking_. Bruce sensed hesitation. _Is something wrong?_

_Hulk have question._

_Since when do you ask if you can ask a question? Since when do you not just say whatever you feel like?_ He could feel Hulk's displeasure at being reprimanded and sighed. Maybe he should be a little gentler. _What's your question?_

_Hulk waste time. Banner will say no_.

Bruce attempted to remain patient. Although it must be something Hulk would know he'd likely disapprove of, he decided to let him ask anyway.

_You should know by now my initial reaction to everything is no. I say no to Tony all the time and still end up giving in half the time._

_More than half_ , Hulk grunted and Bruce sighed.

_Yeah, okay. But he's very persuasive._

_Banner should tell._

_Okay, okay. I got that. Thank you_ , Bruce deflected. _Now what's your question?_

There was a long pause.

_Hulk want to meet little Tony-kids_. Bruce felt like he was blinking and wondered slightly if he was on the outside.

_That's not a question_ , he felt inclined to point out. _It's a want._

_Stupid Banner_. Hulk huffed. _Hulk want to meet little Tony-kids. Banner answer._

_Oh. I see. We should still probably teach you better sentence structure_ , he said thoughtfully.

He then considered the earnest pseudo-question. He was indeed inclined to say no. He didn't know if Hulk was ready for that kind of responsibility or if the twins wouldn't be scared to see him up close. Honestly, he didn't know if he was ready to let go of control, let Hulk out for a purpose other than to fight a battle he himself was too weak to be any use in.

_Banner say no_. Bruce had honestly expected anger, not dejection, as a response from Hulk and he felt his inclination to say no waver.

_I… I didn't say no_ , he said hesitantly. _But I **will** have to think about it_.

_Hulk not hurt little Tony-kids_.

_No, I know that_ , Bruce reassured him _. That's not what I'm worried about_.

_Hulk scare Fast Boy and Strong Girl_ , Hulk said, dejection again, and Bruce felt his face scrunch in confusion as Hulk's words struck him.

_You think Wanda is strong?_ Hulk could have only gotten that impression from Bruce's impression. _She is, but it's interesting that you think so too._

_Hulk feel Strong Girl's thoughts. Strong Girl see pain and not run. Maybe Hulk not scare Strong Girl?_

Bruce thought about his words and tried to parse the meaning. Then it dawned on him. He must mean when Wanda entered his mind at the circus. Hulk must have felt the intrusion, the sifting of memories. She'd seen their torment, but she hadn't pulled away. She could have at any point, but she didn't. Maybe she was stubborn like her father, but if she was it was definitely borne out of the same strength of mind and will.

_Maybe_ , Bruce conceded. _I promise I'll think about it. And talk to Tony about it_ , he added, since it was his call too.

He awoke from his trance and was startled to see Wanda sitting across from him on his terrace. He wondered if Tony and Pietro were inside or if she'd let herself in, since he'd given them his apartment's access code just in case they ever needed it.

"You were talking to him," she said before he could quiz her on why she was there.

He blinked and then looked down at his lap. "Uh, yeah. I was."

"I could hear some of it," she admitted to him. He looked up at her and then she cast her own eyes down as if she felt she might be reprimanded. "Bits and pieces."

"Then you maybe already know he wants to meet you sometime," Bruce said graciously instead and she looked up quickly, clearly startled. "He's pretty big," Bruce told her. "He doesn't know his own strength, but he wouldn't hurt you."

She furrowed her brow. "I know that," she said. "He saved my…" She paused and her internal debate was clear on her face. "He saved Iron Man when he fell from the sky," she rephrased. "I've felt his thoughts too. You misunderstand him."

Bruce frowned. "He's not easy to understand."

She gave a considering look. "He probably thinks the same about you," she said.

His lips quirked to one side and he was sure the Hulk was laughing in his head if he could hear. "You're probably right. We have a lot to learn about each other. I'm just afraid…" He paused and thought about how to put it best, but before he could finish, Wanda nodded solemnly.

"I understand." Her fists clenched a little. "You're afraid to trust him because he makes you think of all the things you hate." She held up her hands and they were glowing red in a mesmerizing way. She seemed to be studying them carefully as she spoke. "There was a cage in your mind long before he came along to be put there." She closed her fists tightly, the red energy dissipating, and looked at him directly with sad green eyes.

Bruce's brow was creased and his eyes narrowed in hard study of Tony's daughter, her words resonating all too deeply. "Are you sure you're only eight?" he asked in lieu of anything more meaningful.

She shook her head. "Some days I don't know who or what I am. Maybe a witch like they call me behind my back at the home." She gritted her teeth. "Maybe not even a good one," she said bitterly and then suddenly her head fell into her hands and she began to sob.

Bruce felt a force of energy hit him, strong enough that he sucked in a breath. He glanced over at one of his potted plants and saw the way the long, spider-y leaves began to droop. His patio furniture trembled as if trying to lift from the ground. He studied the situation and then studied her.

"You're telekinetic." Her hands fell and she looked at him. The kinetic force she'd been emitting dissipated, though her eyes were still wet with tears and her small body was still racked with quiet sobs. "You asked what you are. You're a lot of things, Wanda. You're a child who has been hurt. You're a little girl who has had far too hard of a life. You're a daughter to a man who wants to make your future better than your past, who wants to make up for not being there before. You're a sister. You're a student. You're telekinetic, telepathic, wise beyond your years, witty, beautiful…" He paused purposely. "And very powerful. But you know that part... that you're powerful. And it scares you. Maybe because you want to give into it." She wasn't sobbing anymore as she nodded tentatively, her red-rimmed eyes wide. "Did you hear what Hulk thinks of you?"  She shook her head once. "He thinks you're strong. And he's right."

She scrunched her face and then all but fell into his lap, crying hard again. "I'm not. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't strong enough to save us."

Bruce felt hatred and anger burn like fire in his veins, a dangerous vehemence all his own. He didn't need a Hulk to conjure up a savage instinct to hurt the people who hurt this innocent child for their own perverse desire to wield a powerful, human weapon. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that it wouldn't solve anything in the end and that it wasn't what Wanda needed.

"And I'm sure your brother thinks he wasn't fast enough to save you," he ventured a guess as he stroked her hair gently. After all, Pietro certainly had to have his own trauma and guilt even if he handled it differently than his sister. "But that's the thing, Wanda. You're just kids. Kids…" He fumbled as he choked on a painful memory of his own. "Kids shouldn't have to save themselves," he said bitterly. "That's why no matter what your dad may think about SHIELD, I’m glad they got to you. I'm glad they saved you."

"Me too," she replied, her body shuddering with a violent snivel.

They were silent for a long moment and Bruce contemplated what to say or do next. She was starting to calm, but he had a feeling she needed more than that. Just like that day at the circus, she needed a more positive outlet for her emotions and by extension her powers; they seemed a little out of control when she felt too strongly. They weren't going to go away and it might help her to gain a better…understanding and…acceptance of them... if she used them proactively. He sighed and shook his head as the parallel struck him. He could hear Tony's voice in his ear, telling him that he'd learned to control it. He pushed those thoughts aside and focused on Wanda.

"Do you want to do something with your powers?" he asked.

"Pietro is down in the training room with the others right now," she mumbled. "It reminded me of when they would lock us in separate rooms," she said in a distant voice, "and tell us we wouldn't be allowed to see each other again until we used our powers the way they wanted us to. I would hear Pietro on the other side of the wall, hitting it over and over again because all he could do was run in circles."

Bruce felt tears flood his eyes. "Then I don't blame you for not wanting to use your powers when and how others want you to," he said honestly. Her rebellion and any urge to use her powers on her own terms, for good or bad, made sense. He considered it further and then an idea struck him. He dried his eyes and cleared his throat. "If you could try to do anything with your powers, what would it be?"

Wanda slowly sat up and looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"You know," he said with a shrug, "like, maybe you'd like to…" He considered what he would do with her powers. "Halloween is coming up," he restarted. "Maybe you'd think it would be fun to scare people by using your telekinesis to make a fake ghost fly out at people."

It was just the kind of impish thing a kid – or Tony – would want to do and he could see by the way her eyes lit up that it appealed to that mischievous nature in her. He'd be lying if he said the idea didn't appeal to the impish side of him, the part of him that he didn't let go unchecked like Tony, perhaps, but that still existed and fed off Tony's impishness.

"Wouldn't that be considered bad behavior?" Wanda asked seriously, standing to her feet. He followed suit, stretching as he did.

"Not necessarily," Bruce answered and he moved back into his apartment, Wanda following right beside him. "It depends on your intent. If you're just having a little good-natured fun and aren't trying to hurt anyone, then I don't see the problem. Like you when you and your brother use your powers to play pranks on each other. You don't really want to hurt each other, right?"

"Never," Wanda said very seriously. "So… you mean I can use my powers for more than just learning how to fight with them?"

Bruce stopped short and he blinked. "Wanda, you don't have to fight at all if you don't want to."

She looked up at him in confusion. "But SHIELD says we should learn to use our powers to fight because we have a duty to use them responsibly and to keep the world safe. And HYDRA was trying to make us learn how to fight for them."

Bruce sighed. So Tony hadn't been inherently wrong when he worried SHIELD might use some of the same conditioning tactics for the sake of their agenda. He tried to focus on the positive that the organization had saved them and that meant that Wanda and Pietro were safely in Tony's custody for now.

"I'm not saying it's not good to know how to protect yourself or use your powers to help others," he compromised. "But nobody should feel obligated to fight. Least of all a kid."

He started walking again and made his way to the kitchen. He washed his hands and turned on the oven to preheat. He then pulled out a spoon, a cookie sheet and a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough, just one of the many decadent things he kept on hand regularly because of his insatiable sweet tooth. After all of her crying, he thought Wanda could maybe use some cheering up of the old fashioned kind. Wanda followed and got up into one of the seats along the breakfast bar to watch him.

"I'd like to fly," she said randomly and Bruce stopped doling out small blobs of cookie dough onto the sheet to look at her. "I can lift other items into the air," she explained. "I wish I could do the same with myself. I'm not sure I can even do it with other people."

"Huh," he considered. "Like levitation? You know, that might be possible. You probably would have an upper limit so it wouldn't be quite like flying in the same sense as say Thor or your dad in his suit, but you may still be able to create an anti-gravity field to travel sort of like a bubble might." He stopped hypothesizing when he looked to see her nose wrinkled in confusion. She was still only eight and not a genius in the scientific sense of the word he reminded himself. "Scientifically speaking, it may be possible to lift yourself off the ground," he reiterated.

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really." He smiled at her and then returned to making the cookies. "So what else? Anything else you'd like to do?"

"Um… Oh, I know," she said in a thoughtful tone. "I would carry around a wand and hold it up and pretend to say spells, but then I would just use my powers to make things happen. Then people would _really_ think I'm a witch."

Bruce chuckled softly. "That would be seriously cool," he agreed. "Hermoine would be envious, I'm sure."

She smiled. "What would you do if you had my power?"

"Hmm," he considered it, "I'd probably just be very, very lazy." She giggled at his admission. "I could just do everything with my mind. No hands or hard labor involved. Like if I'm lying in bed and my arms get tired from holding a book—"

"You can just have it float above you!" Wanda exclaimed. "I've done that!"

He smiled at her. "Well, what do you know," he said as if surprised. "You used your power for something fun that _you_ wanted to do." She blinked several times and then looked down like she might be in trouble. "I'm very glad to hear it," he said and she perked up again.

Just then the oven alerted him that it was finished preheating. He looked at the cookie sheet and then at Wanda who was eyeing the cookie dough like she couldn't wait. He held up the spoon and she glanced at it curiously.

"There's room for a few more," he prompted. "Want to try?" She nodded and he smiled. "Wash your hands real quick," he instructed and she did so with enough speed that he couldn't help but think Pietro would be proud.

When she was back with spoon in hand, Bruce watched in amusement as she immediately blobbed a large heap of cookie dough onto the sheet. She mimicked his movements of using the back of the spoon to try and make it more even and then she looked at his compared to hers and he could see clarity settle into her eyes.

"I made it too big," she said, wrinkling her nose. She looked up at him for guidance.

"Maybe it's a little big," he agreed. "But there's enough room left I think it'll be fine. It'll just be a super cookie."

"Hulk-sized," she said with a smirk and he chortled.

"Maybe not that big. That would be a very big cookie."

"Does Hulk like cookies?" Wanda asked as she spooned out another large helping of cookie dough, though not as much as the first time.

The question surprised him. "You know," he said evenly, "I'm not sure. I… I don't know if he even eats anything." She stopped her molding of the cookie dough and looked up at him with a small frown that made him feel guilty. "You're right. It _is_ sad. But I suppose he probably would in theory. I like sweet things and, well, who doesn't like cookies, right?" He took the cookie sheet and placed it in the oven. He then turned on the timer. "You can have the spoon," he told her as he then put away the unused cookie dough.

Her lips turned upright again at that and she gladly indulged in the delight that was cookie dough; Bruce almost pulled the tub back out and took a few spoonfuls of his own since one of the definite upsides of having his irradiated system was being able to do so without worry of getting sick, but he decided not to set that kind of example.

"Maybe he'd be a literal cookie monster," she offered brightly when she was finally finished. She looked at the spoon and then toward the sink before using her telekinesis to send it over to it.

Bruce chuckled. "That sounds like something Tony would say," he said with a shake of his head. "And, see, telekinesis is good for being lazy."

She smirked. "That seems like the opposite of what a grown-up should say," she said. "What would my…" Her sentence trailed.

He understood what she'd meant to ask and didn't want to lose the amicable atmosphere by making her feel weird about her uncertainty. "What would Tony say?" Bruce shrugged. "Your father has robots that do just about everything for him and then JARVIS to do everything else. I don't think he'll mind if you follow his example."

"You're probably right," she said to that.

"That reminds me. JARVIS," Bruce then said to the AI, "tell Tony and Pietro that we've got post-training cookies baking. And I guess Clint and Natasha can join too if they want."

"Pietro will eat them all," Wanda said with a pout. "He's always hungry."

"Well, I can only imagine his metabolism would require it," Bruce said thoughtfully. "Don't worry. I won't let him eat—" He blinked owlishly when suddenly Pietro was sitting eagerly in the seat next to his sister. She huffed and crossed her arms. "—them all," he finished lamely. "Hi, Pietro," he then said with a chuckle. "Training over already?"

"Uh…" His eyes widened guiltily. "I don't know. JARVIS said cookies and I got here as fast as I could." He accentuated that statement with a wide, mostly toothy grin.

Bruce just hummed and waited for the inevitable. He didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later Tony let himself into the apartment and strolled over looking at his son with a playfully narrowed gaze. Tony sidled up just beside Bruce and crossed his arms.

"I see Bruce's cookies are more important than helping your old man beat Barton and Romanoff at extreme dodge ball," he said petulantly.

"You were playing dodge ball for training?" Wanda's arms uncrossed and she looked at Tony in surprise. Bruce smiled slightly at that. Maybe now she would realize Tony's idea of training and using powers were far from anything SHIELD would probably approve of.

"Thought I was covered," Tony continued to complain, "but nope. My wing man takes off and next thing you know it's open season on Tony Stark and can I just say that the assassins play dirty?" Bruce choked on a laugh and Tony looked at him in mock offense. "LOOK!" He lifted his shirt to show an extremely red abrasion to the three of them, Pietro laughing a little maniacally and Wanda studying it carefully. "You know I think they were _aiming_ for my reactor. Probably wanted to kill me."

Bruce shook his head. "I'm sure they weren't trying to kill you. Now put your shirt down. Your kids don't want to see that," he teased just as the timer on the oven went off.

"All I can infer from that statement is _you_ do," Tony responded with a smirk. Bruce quickly moved to turn off the timer and pull out the cookies as a distraction from that comment. Tony was still smirking when he put the cookie sheet on the island. "Oh wow. Okay, yeah, Bruce's cookies trump training."

Tony and Pietro eagerly put out their hands at the same time. "Wanda, force field!" Bruce said quickly. He was surprised at how instinctively it rolled off his lips and even more surprised at how instinctively Wanda had complied, a red energy bubble surrounding the cookies and causing father and son to be thwarted in their efforts. Bruce looked at Wanda with wide eyes to see her smiling at him in a smug and conspiratorial fashion, clearly pleased. He couldn't help but return it. "Thank you, Wanda." He then glared at Tony. " _You_ should know better."

"When have I ever?" Tony asked with a slow shrug and cheeky grin.

Bruce pinched his nose and then moved to grab a plate and spatula. When he came back he set it down with an exasperated sigh and nodded to Wanda to let her know she could stop shielding the cookies.

"I hate that I can't stay mad at you, did you know that?" Bruce gave him another sharp glare to let him know he meant it. "Even when you're being ridiculous. Just," he pushed the spatula into Tony's hand and shook his head, "plate the cookies like an adult while I pour the kids some milk."

"The adult would like some milk too, actually," Tony said and _damn it all_ , he seriously hated that he couldn't stay annoyed with him because he was too busy getting butterflies and being amused over every little thing and wanting those smirking lips to stop smirking and kiss him again.

"The adult can pour his own milk," Bruce said, holding on to at least the illusion of control, as he turned and went to the fridge.

_Hulk is right. You should tell him._

Bruce froze and turned his head back, meeting Wanda's knowing gaze. He studied her for a moment.

_I have a lot of reasons not to_ , he thought. He was unsure of how this worked, aside from theoretically via Star Trek, or if she'd be able to hear him.

When she didn't respond right away, he thought perhaps she'd projected unknowingly her own thought about his telling Tony the truth. He almost wished that was the case when she replied, _Are you afraid he'll say no or afraid he'll say yes?_

Bruce's eyes widened as the question struck him like an epiphany of biblical proportions. Wanda, on the other hand, merely looked back at her dad with a small quirk of her lips, Tony none the wiser of the exchange.

***

Tony looked at his cards, looked at the number of tricks he and Bruce had already collected, and then decided to lead with a low card. He then glanced across the common floor with a fond smile at his goofy kids as they entertained themselves while the adults played their card game.

Wanda was sat crossed-leg on the couch with one of her Harry Potter books floating in front of her and a pretend wand she'd asked for in one hand. Every now and then as she read, she would say one of the spells from the book and something in the room would be affected as she imagined herself an actual witch. Currently a stack of magazines from the nearby coffee table were flying in a circle in the air as she spun her wand.

Then there was Pietro who was currently playing air hockey. With himself. Tony darted his eyes back and forth as his son ran from one side to another, hitting the puck in an attempt to keep it from going into either goal.

Tony felt someone nudge at his foot with their own. He looked up to see the other three staring at him expectantly. He looked down to see three more cards had been laid down and it was his turn. He studied the cards and figured out who laid what based on the fact Clint would have led seeing as he was the last to lay down a card this round. Bruce had this trick so he threw down his lowest club.

"So, who was attempting to play footsie with me?" he asked in joking deflection of his having obviously been in another world. "And if the answer is anyone other than Bruce, you two are out of here," he said with a quick wag of his finger between Clint and Natasha.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Natasha said in a droll tone. "I was aiming for Dr. Banner." She then pouted, and not even in a very convincing way Tony noted, at Bruce. "I thought you were going to tell him about us."

"Uh, well, I would have," Bruce said as he studied his cards far too hard before laying one down, "but this is the first I'm hearing of it so…" He glanced up quickly at Tony and then back down at his cards. Tony furrowed his brow slightly at that.

"You like Bruce?" Pietro was suddenly at Natasha's side with his sister. They all blinked at one another in surprise. Both kids were studying the spy carefully.

Natasha looked at him. "Want to call off your kids, Stark?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

Tony considered it for a moment. "Sorry, no can do. There's a question on the table already and you know how kids are. They won't stop until you answer."

"Yeah, I know how kids are," she mumbled, glaring at him meaningfully. Then she smiled at them. "Sure, I like Bruce." She shrugged. "What's not to like? I mean, we sort of got off on the wrong foot, but I'm pretty persuasive." She smiled at Bruce and Tony could tell by the way Bruce's eyebrows shot up that there was something intended by that comment.

"Really?" Bruce asked in a dubious tone. "Are you sure _you_ persuaded me?"

"Do you want to date him?" Pietro then quizzed and Clint choked on a laugh. Tony was trying to find the humor in it, but admittedly his senses were a little warped right now where Bruce was concerned.

Natasha muttered something in Russian and shook her head. "No," she said with surprising gentility. "I just like messing with your father." That answer got a snort out of Clint and a confused glance from Bruce. Tony on the other hand was about to have an anxiety attack since this decidedly wasn't the time or place for teasing him about his obvious and unrequited feelings.

"Why?" Wanda asked sharply and her hand flew upward, glowing red. "It's not nice to mess with people. What if I mess with you?"

Bruce startled first and Tony was pulled from his anxiety attack only to have it replaced with worry over his daughter's actions. Before he could reprimand her somehow, Wanda turned her head and looked at Bruce for a long moment before her face softened and her hand slowly lowered. Bruce gave a very obvious sigh of relief while Tony just looked back and forth between them trying to understand what the hell had just happened and how it had all spiraled out of control so quickly in the first place.

"I'm sorry," Wanda mumbled. "I… I shouldn't have done that," she said with a shake of her head.

Natasha surprised him then. She stood and pulled Wanda into a hug. "I'm sorry if I upset you." She then looked at Tony. "I need a drink. Pour me one while Clint and Bruce teach them how to play Spades?"

Tony just nodded dumbly and let Wanda take his seat while Pietro sat in Natasha's. He then followed her over to the bar. "What just happened?" he asked as he went around to the other side to pull out some alcohol.

"Your children were being protective," she answered with an easy enough shrug. "They thought I was flirting with Bruce." Tony missed the glass on the first pour and cursed his clumsiness. She chuckled at his misfortune. "You should be glad, Stark. Not all kids approve of a parent's choice in lovers. They must really like him. Wanda especially," she said looking back over her shoulder to study them. Tony followed her gaze.

"Bruce and I aren't…" He started, but didn't finish. She looked back at him and took her drink. He took a drink to calm himself and then sighed. "I must have been projecting my—"

"Jealousy?" she supplied unhelpfully.

"Sure, whatever." He rolled his eyes, but didn't feel like arguing. "She must have picked up on my anxiety and was reacting."

Natasha hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe part of it. But she genuinely didn't like my saying I like messing with you. Did I trigger her?" Natasha asked pointedly.

Tony furrowed his brow. "Possibly. After what she's been through—"

"What has she been through?" Natasha asked with an even glance as she brought her drink to her lips.

"Well, you know…" He didn't like to talk about it.

"I don't," she said as she brought the glass down again. He gave her an incredulous look. "I'm serious, Stark. The only thing I know about those kids is they were in SHIELD custody and they're apparently yours. For all I know SHIELD could have picked them up from any orphanage when they came onto the radar as superhuman. And, surprise surprise, they turn out to be your bastard kids," she said bluntly. "All the more reason to keep them under SHIELD protection."

"You seriously don't know? Barton hasn't told you? You don't have enough clearance to have already known the situation?"

Natasha glared at him. "Clint takes his job seriously, Stark. If he was told to keep their file secret as their handler, then he knows that I understand and won't push for answers just because we're close. Why do you—" She cut herself off, chewing her bottom lip as she glanced back at the card game. She sighed and lowered her voice then, saying, "Why do you think it was a big deal when Loki took his mind? He had secrets, lots of them, he never meant to tell and then Loki just… pulled them out one by one like files in a cabinet. Loki knew things about me that Clint never would have told him willingly. He knew things about agents, things about SHIELD. You could know him for years, Stark, and never know all the things he keeps hidden."

Tony studied her and took a drink. "Then how can you trust him?" She snorted softly and rolled her eyes like he was an idiot who didn't get it. Maybe he didn't.

"Because he has heart. When he keeps secrets, it's personal. He does it because he can be trusted. If he tells you _anything_ it's because he knows he can trust you. _Not_ the other way around. It's his call. Do you want me to know what's in their pasts?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I… hadn't considered it one way or another," he said honestly. "I mean, eventually I guess it would make sense for the team to know."

"So as your friend and their handler, Clint probably took that to mean sealed lips unless you say otherwise," she said with a shrug. "So, no, Stark. I don't know what happened to your kids. But I'm starting to have a pretty good working theory. There's more than abandonment issues here," she said knowingly. "They were hurt, weren't they?"

Tony flinched and his hand tightened around his glass. Natasha glanced down at it and then gently extricated it from his fingers. He sighed and hung his head once it was wrenched away.

"Hurt doesn't even begin to cover it." He shook his head and looked past her, seeing the way his kids still smiled and had some semblance of happiness and resiliency in spite of everything. "Honestly, it's a miracle they're even here, Natasha. It's a miracle they made it to me and…and…" His voice broke.

"Sir," JARVIS suddenly interrupted, "Captain Rogers has sent out an alert for backup. He is in DC and in need of immediate assistance. The Triskellion is under attack."

Natasha's eyes widened. "The WSC Peace Summit," she said in a panic and jumped to her feet.

"Yes," JARVIS confirmed. "The army has deployed several troops under the leadership of Lt. Colonel Rhodes, but it has turned into a dangerous hostage situation. Sir, I feel I should also mention Ms. Potts was in attendance."

Tony's stomach lurched and he met Bruce's eyes across the room. "What do you mean she was in attendance? Is she… Is she okay? Talk to me, JARVIS."

"She is one of the hostages," JARVIS replied. "Captain Rogers has been given roughly twenty minutes to give himself up or she and the other hostages will be exterminated one by one until—"

"Fuck," Tony cursed loudly before the AI could finish.

"You three go," Natasha said. "I'll stay here with the twins," she volunteered. She looked between Clint and Bruce. "They may need a long shot and if push comes to shove something worse."

"But I could get us there that fast," Pietro offered heroically.

"You don't even know how to get there," Wanda argued.

"Not now, please," Tony said as calmly as he could. "I know you guys are capable, but this time you'll stay here with Natasha." He ran toward the elevator, Bruce and Clint right behind him. Once they reached the top floor, he hurried to be suited in his newest and fastest armor while Clint and Bruce headed for the QuinJet.

"You okay, Dr. Banner?" Clint asked. It was the first thing Tony heard over the comm link once it was established.

"He's probably fine, Barton," Tony said as he took off in the suit toward DC as fast as he could. "I'm sure the Big Guy knows not to come out yet." He was sure Bruce was probably trying to reach out to him.

"Oh my god, what were you two thinking?" That was the second thing Tony heard over the link and this time it was Bruce's evenly panicked voice – the way only he could manage – and after a minute Tony's brain caught up to him.

"You two?" Tony repeated. "JARVIS, connect me to the jet," he said and his HUD connected to the monitor in the QuinJet. "Wanda, Pietro, you better not be on this plane or so help me…" He didn't know how to finish that threat, because he'd never been in this position before, and he wasn't sure he had any legal right yet to ground them until they were his age.

"We want to help!" Wanda shouted, confirming his suspicion.

"Damn it!" Tony shouted. "I know you want to help, but this isn't—"

"Tony, I know this is horrible, but they're just kids," Bruce spoke up.

"Exactly! They're kids. They shouldn't be anywhere near—"

"I mean, they weren't thinking of the consequences so let's not say things we'll regret," Bruce interrupted again and that's when a red flag went up.

Tony listened past the blood rushing in his ear and could hear the gentle sobs. He realized he must have scared them with his outburst and wanted to yell again, this time at himself.

"You're right. They weren't thinking. We'll discuss this in DC," he said as he cut the video feed. As soon as he did, the HUD lit up again with Natasha's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance.

"I'm sorry if the world's fastest kid managed to slip past me," she said curtly. "I take it they're with you?"

"On the jet," Tony answered. She gave a visible sigh of relief. "What the hell were they thinking?" He vented his frustration to her in lieu of being able to otherwise.

"I told you, Stark. They want to protect you," she said evenly.

Her words struck him hard. "Even if it means going into a fight they're not ready for," he said and closed his eyes.

They didn't want to lose him. He would be elated if not for the fear pounding in his chest that it meant he could be the one to lose them if things went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Ironically, earlier today I came across an old Tumblr post about telepathic!Wanda including her messing with people by just randomly talking to them in their heads or flirting with Vision telepathically and so on, so it made me feel a little bit better about this story/especially this chapter.   
> 2\. There are probably other suitable notes for this chapter but my brain is really dumb from going, going, going lately so uh yeah I'll just leave it as is.


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce listened in on the fight via the comm. He didn't seem needed thankfully so he had decided to stay with the twins in the jet Clint had parked atop the Triskelion. As it turned out, HYDRA had somehow infiltrated the Summit and had unleashed a terrorist attack during a peace awards banquet, at which Pepper had been in attendance for some reason as far as Bruce had gathered from Tony.

"It's about damn time," Tony muttered over the link at that moment. "What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry," Steve countered in a sardonic tone, "I only had to take out a dozen or so men to get to my shield."

"I'm still surprised you let it out of your sight in the first place," Tony said. "And Captain America taking out bad guys in a dinner suit is weird. Just for the record."

"Well, _Steve Rogers_ didn't know he'd have to _be_ Captain America tonight when he put on the dinner suit. So he checked his shield at the door," Steve retorted.

"We still have hostages in sectors three and five and a standoff on the ground outside. So just kiss already and get in there and kick ass," Clint said in frustration.

"No thank you," both men said adamantly in unison.

Bruce chuckled in spite of everything. Then his attention was drawn back to the twins when Pietro stopped running around in circles, literally, and looked at him sadly.

"Is he…" The boy fumbled and then tried again. "Is our dad going to send us away?" His look turned harsh and distant.

Bruce blinked in surprise, and not only at Pietro calling Tony their dad. He looked down at the girl sitting beside him and saw her body physically stiffen at the question. He frowned and looked back at Pietro.

"No, of course not," he answered. "He wouldn't do that. Why would you think he would?"

"He's angry with us," Pietro answered.

"And he thinks we need to be punished," Wanda said with a shiver that made Bruce close his eyes and take several deep breaths to avoid a protective reaction.

"Look, he's angry because he's scared. He doesn't want anything to happen to you."

"I'm angry because I failed at keeping you somewhere safer than this," Tony said in his ear, catching on to the conversation apparently.

Bruce opened his eyes. "He's angry because he failed at keeping you somewhere safer than this," he repeated.

"Maybe we're angry too!" Pietro challenged, showing the most ferocity Bruce had yet seen from him. "He said he would do anything to protect us now. To be there for us. But how can he if he flies off and gets killed!?"

"Pietro," Wanda protested.

"Like Coulson did!"

"Pietro!" Wanda shot up to her feet.

"Or like our m—"

"Pietro, enough!!" Wanda shouted, slamming her fists down at her sides as she did, and not only did the jet rattle she was suddenly levitating slightly above the floor. Pietro's eyes were wide as were Bruce's. He wasn't sure Wanda even knew what she was doing as all of her attention seemed fixated on her brother in stern disapproval.

"Wanda?" Pietro looked at his sister uncertainly.

She was broken from her fury and began to waver and then fall back. Bruce jumped up quickly to catch her.

"What… What happened?" She looked up at him in confusion.

"You…" Bruce still couldn't believe it himself. "You levitated, sweetheart," he said with a small smile.

"She what?" Tony chirped in his ear.

"Wait, who is Banner talking to exactly?" Steve suddenly quizzed. "Who levitated?"

"Guys, we've got a problem," Clint interrupted. "We've got HYDRA agents heading for the roof." Bruce felt panic surge through him. "War Machine, you need to get there now."

"Why?" Rhodey asked in confusion. "Dr. Banner is more than capable of taking care of them, right?"

"Damn it, Rhodey!" Tony shouted, so loud and fearful, that Bruce winced and felt Hulk begin to stir. "My kids are in there!"

"Your _what!?_ " Rhodey and Steve exclaimed at the same time.

"What do you mean your kids?" Steve asked in confusion. "Banner has been talking to kids?"

"I don't have time for this! I just need to get to them!" Tony shouted. "Bruce, talk to me."

"We're okay, Tony," Bruce said as calmly as he could.

"I'm on my way there," Rhodey said.

"You've only got about a minute. They've, oh god," Clint muttered. "They're going to blow a hole in the back. Strong enough detonation to take out a couple of kids if they're too close," he warned. "Or cause an incident."

"Oh god, oh god," Bruce panicked simultaneously with Tony's panic in his ear. Then he looked at the twins, who could tell something was wrong and faltering back on instinct, and took a deep breath. "Pietro, grab your sister. Don't ask why." Pietro did so. "Alright, stand at the front of the jet. I'm…I'm going to let out the Hulk and smash through the back okay? There are bad guys out there. Once I do, I want you to run with your sister as fast as you can around this roof, do you understand me? Don't you dare stop until the coast is clear. Okay?" Pietro nodded.

"What about you?" Wanda asked as Pietro pulled her to the front of the plane.

"I'll be fine," Bruce promised and then let everything turn to green. _Don't let anything happen to them, Hulk. I'm counting on you._

*

_This is new_.

Bruce felt like he was in a lucid dream, still conscious as Hulk took control. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear Hulk's thoughts and feel his reactions. Was this how it felt for Hulk inside his head? Was this why he was more aware of things than Bruce gave him credit for?

Bruce hoped his thoughts at least weren't as chaotic as this. It was like what he'd imagine being in a boat in the midst of a hurricane would feel like. It was violent and loud and disorienting. He was having a hard time keeping up with what was actually going on in the real world other than Hulk on a one-monster mission to protect Pietro and Wanda for which Bruce was most certainly grateful.

_Hulk SMASH people that try to hurt little Tony-kids! Hulk protect little Tony-kids! HULK CAN'T SEE FAST BOY OR STRONG GIRL! WHERE FAST BOY AND STRONG GIRL!?_

_Pietro is running fast enough so that you can't see him_ , Bruce tried to push forward that thought and hoped it was true. _Don't give them away._ He wasn't sure if Hulk had said any of that out loud or if it was only his thoughts. It seemed to calm down for a few long seconds, but then Bruce felt the disorientation grow stronger and his own panic palpable all around him as a barrage of Hulk's thoughts, mostly incoherent, flooded his ears.

_GRAY TIN MAN NOT FIND FAST BOY OR STRONG GIRL! HULK NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO! CAN'T LOSE LITTLE TONY-KIDS!_

_HULK! If the coast is clear tell Pietro to stop running_ , he tried.

Suddenly Bruce felt anger and fear so strong it hurt physically even in this semi-conscious state.

_No. No!_ Bruce was suddenly worried what that could possibly mean.

_HULK SMASH PUNY MAN! NOT TAKE TONY-KIDS!_

_Oh god, please no!_

_STRONG GIRL STRONGEST GIRL THERE IS!_

Bruce felt his breath catch at that and could only listen to the thoughts swirling all around him and hope that somebody saved Wanda and Pietro. He hoped he hadn't made a big mistake in making the call he did. He would never be able to live with himself if anything were to happen to those kids.

The fear, the anger, the chaos was all too much to bear and unconsciousness took him.

***

"Tony, if these are your kids, you need to get your ass up here now. I need back—" Rhodey started to say and then stopped short. Tony panicked. "What the hell? What _are_ they?"

The panic turned to righteous indignation. "What do you mean what are they? They're my kids!" he shouted. "What's going on!?"

"Stark, go get… them. Barton and I will finish up in here," Steve said and honestly Tony wouldn't have really cared if he'd said not to go because Tony was already on his way.

Tony figured it didn't really matter at this point anyway so he took out the nearest window and flew straight for the roof. When he got there he came to a screeching halt. His eyes went straight to the levitating HYDRA agent and then the little girl standing there with a face like steel as she held her hands aimed at the agent, glowing red in the twilight. Hulk stood beside her with what almost looked like awe or even pride. Then there was Pietro with a heap of weapons beside him. All around them there were other agents strewn about unconscious.

Tony flew in and blasted the levitating agent with his gauntlet for good measure and to make a statement, if only to himself, that nobody messed with his kids. The agent fell to the roof with a harsh thud, unconscious.

"What happened?" Tony asked, hurrying over and landing in front of the three of them. "Are you okay?"

"I stopped running," Pietro answered. "But I stopped right in front of one of the agents. I'm sorry," he said, hanging his head. "I wasn't careful. Wanda almost got hurt because of me."

Fresh fear, mixed with keen relief, surged through Tony's being and he dropped to his knees. "It's okay. Everything's okay. You didn't mean to and you… you did good, Wanda. You both did." He then looked around at the agents and remembered this wasn't quite over. "Rhodey, we need to get back in there," he said.

"Right. What about…" He pointed.

"I want you two to get back in the jet. Hulk," Tony looked at him as Pietro grabbed Wanda's hand and sped them back to safety, "thank you. Keep protecting them. I'm going back for—"

"Explosives!" Clint suddenly shouted. "Everybody out! Out now! Just run!"

"Tony, they're everywhere," Steve said, sounding like he was running. "They're on the HY—" He was cut off by the sound of an explosion that shook the building and it was followed by a chain reaction of explosions.

"Tony," Rhodey warned and Tony looked to see the sudden lights flashing one by one on each of the fallen HYDRA agents like a domino effect.

Tony looked at the jet in panic and then the Hulk, who was staring at the agents in a studious fashion, like he understood, but not quite. "Hulk! The jet! Get the—"

Tony was thrown into the air by the first explosion and barely righted himself up and away from the ripple effect of bombs. When he was righted he turned sharply to look back at the roof and the fiery chaos, including one very on fire QuinJet. Tony felt his heart stop and everything go slow as he looked around desperately for Hulk. Where was Hulk? Tony took off back for the fallout, but pulled up short when he heard a bestial roar.

He turned and looked several blocks down to see Hulk in the middle of what looked like a military detail and clearly in a defensive stance. He glanced back at the jet, heart sinking, not sure what to think or do, before another roar from Hulk ripped his attention away and sent him flying toward the other scene.

As he approached he saw all he needed for his world to come back into focus. He landed sharply, released the suit and ran the few feet left between him and the two beautiful, _safe_ children that Hulk wasn't about to let anyone other than him get near.

Rhodey was there too and eyeing Hulk cautiously for the sake of his men. Tony could understand he needed to protect them from a creature known for not taking kindly to soldiers, but at the moment Tony pointedly ignored him when Rhodey said, "Call him off, Tony."

He was too busy pulling the twins into a crushing hug. "Oh, you're safe. You're safe," he said a few times over. "Don't ever, ever, ever scare me like this again."

"Everybody out?" Rhodey asked somebody.

"Yeah," Steve, it was Steve apparently, said. "Except the HYDRA agents. All of them. I should have seen this coming. They always cut off their own heads if they have to." He sounded confused and weary.

"Tony! God, Tony, are they okay?" Pepper's voice. Tony spared a glance through his damp eyes and saw her push through the crowd until she was standing next to Steve and looking on in relief.

"We're okay," Pietro said, finally pulling away. "It was so cool," he then said and Tony's eyes widened as he straightened, Wanda still clinging to his waist. "Hulk ripped open the plane and said," he imitated the Big Guy then, "'HULK SAVE FAST BOY AND STRONG GIRL!' And then he grabbed us and smashed through the roof and jumped way over to that building!" He pointed to a building down the block. "And then all the way over here!"

"And then he wouldn't let us get near them to check for injuries," a military medic said in disapproval. Hulk sneered and Tony felt a similar reaction.

"Hey! He was just trying to protect them," Tony barked. "He doesn't have a lot of reason to trust military types and a bunch of psychos just tried to hurt them."

"They tried to take us," Wanda said with a shiver. Tony felt even more grateful for what hadn't happened and hugged her tightly again.

"So Hulk is a hero and I'm glad he waited until I got here." He looked up at Hulk genuinely. "Thank you."

"Hulk protect little Tony-kids," Hulk grunted. "Promise Banner keep safe."

"I know you would have kept them safe anyways," Tony replied, but he couldn't help but feel a small thrill at knowing that somewhere in the midst of all that, Bruce had been a motivating factor and that the physicist's request was for Hulk not to let anything happen to his kids.

"But they still need medical attention, Tony," Pepper said, stepping in.

Tony sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right." He looked at Wanda and Pietro. "You need to let the medic look at you real quick. Will you… be okay with that?" he asked delicately. Wanda bit her lip and looked at Pietro and then at Hulk. Then she nodded as did her brother.

"It's safe," Wanda said, as if trying to convince herself. Pepper started to take the initiative in leading them away with the medic, but Wanda turned back brightly and said, "Oh, but we also have to get Hulk cookies." She looked up at the green behemoth. "Would you like cookies?" Tony blinked a few times at the unexpected query.

Hulk furrowed his giant brow, also clearly confused, but then a wide, feral kind of grin spread across his face. "Hulk want to try cookies." Wanda beamed up at him and Tony matched it.

"We can make that happen, Big Guy. Done deal."

*

Tony knew he should probably take Bruce to his own apartment, Steve had offered to help and Clint and Natasha had offered to check in on him, but frankly after all the excitement and the fact that Bruce always looked so terribly worn and vulnerable after his time as Hulk, Tony really didn't want to let him out of his sight. So he told the other three Avengers he could handle it and, with Wanda and Pietro in tow, carried him to their apartment instead.

"Is he okay?" Pietro asked as Tony lay Bruce down on the couch as gently as possible. He didn't even flinch or make a noise. He could understand Pietro's concerned expression. The dead look took getting used to. Honestly, Tony still wasn't used to it since he'd only seen it a couple of times.

"Yeah, of course," Tony reassured him nonetheless. "He's just tired. It's late and he knows it's bedtime," he said, turning with an expectant look at the twins. It was going on midnight or maybe already a little past.

"He looks dead," Pietro said bluntly.

"Pietro!" Wanda admonished and then proceeded to admonish him further in Sokovian, their native tongue. Tony had learned their mother was Sokovian and that was where the HYDRA base was located. Tony was in the process of learning it as well so he picked up that Wanda was distressed by Pietro's insistence that Bruce seemed more than just asleep. He also thought he heard her say, 'you're worrying him' and wondered who she was referring to.

"Well, he does," Pietro replied lamely.

Wanda sighed and moved so she was standing over Bruce with her head tilted. "He's fine. I can still read him. He… He's not sleeping." Tony widened his eyes while she closed hers. "Not exactly. His mind is still shifting. His body is back, but he's still returning. Their minds are…" She paused as if trying to explain it. "There's a struggle." Tony furrowed his brow then and looked from his daughter to Bruce uncertainly. "I think… I think they both just want peace." She looked up at him with a thoughtful expression. "Do you think they'll ever find it?"

Tony sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I hope so, Wanda."

"I'm not tired," Pietro said randomly behind them. Tony turned and looked at him with a raised brow. "I have too much energy to sleep."

"I'm not tired either," Wanda said and looked back at Bruce.

Tony considered the situation. "Alright, guess we'll have to come up with a compromise," he decided. "How about we watch a movie in your guys' room until you fall asleep. If you're not asleep by the end of it, then you'll just have to lay there and count sheep. Deal?"

The twins looked at one another. "Deal," they said in unison. Tony wasn't sure if it was adorable or mildly disturbing.

"Alright, go get ready for bed and pick out a movie and I'll be there in a few minutes," he told them and they hurried off. He chuckled softly and then let out another sigh of relief that they were still here with him.

He looked at Bruce then, feeling torn between his desire to be there by his side until he woke up again and his genuine desire to unwind with his children and be there for them. He smiled softly at the man and realized Bruce would tell him it wasn't even a question of which option he should take; he'd shoo him out of the room even.

So he made his way to the twins' bedroom and found them sat on Pietro's bed, their backs propped against the wall the bed was situated on, with a large Starkpad between them. Tony smiled and waited for them to gesture for him to join them before going to sit in the space between them, placing the tablet on his lap instead. He scrunched his face slightly when he looked at the tablet and saw that it was a somewhat juvenile film, even for what he imagined an eight-year-old would be into. But he decided not to say anything as they giggled at the silliness of it. As long as they were happy, or maybe if it made them feel safe, then he had no problem with it. He even chuckled a few times himself.

Halfway through the film Pietro passed out and he could tell Wanda was starting to drift off as well. He rubbed soothing circles into her arm and stroked a few stray strands of hair every now and then. Just when he thought she was asleep she shifted a little and looked up at him with sleepy, green eyes.

"Papa?"

Tony blinked and looked down at her, likely with wide eyes, uncertain if he'd heard her correctly. "Yes?"

"Can I call you that?" she asked tentatively.

He tried not to smile too wide that it scared her off or embarrassed her. "You can definitely call me that," he told her.

"Okay," she said with a yawn and closed her eyes again. He felt her body relax. "Goodnight, papa," she said, voice drifting off. The last thing she mumbled was, "Thank you." Then she was asleep as if all of her energy had finally drained from her at once.

Tony was too stunned to move so he let both of his kids sleep on either side for an indeterminate amount of time as he processed the day and processed his life and processed his newfound relationships with the Avengers, with Bruce, with his kids… Finally, he managed to come back from his trance and he carefully maneuvered out of the bed and rearranged the twins until they were both lying more comfortably.

"No, Wanda," he whispered, "thank you."

Tony then slowly returned to the living room, his next mission in mind. Bruce deserved more than a crick in his neck from sleeping on the couch, no matter how expensive and comfortable. So he inhaled deeply and scooped the physicist into his arms. He wasn't about to take him all the way back to the comfort of Bruce's own bed, but he could give Bruce his bed; Tony doubted he was going to sleep at all tonight anyhow. Tony carried him into his room and gently deposited him onto the covered mattress. And not a minute too soon as Bruce started to stir, maybe from the movement; any sooner and he could only imagine how awkward that would have been to explain in the moment.

Bruce suddenly bolted upright and looked around like he was disoriented. "Wanda? Pietro?" He rubbed at his eyes and then furrowed his brow before looking up and noticing him. "Oh god, Tony," he practically pleaded. "Are they okay? Tony, are they okay!?"

Tony was sat on the side of the bed in an instant, hands reaching out for Bruce's arms to steady him, reassure him. "Hey, it's okay. They're okay. Do you remember anything?"

Bruce closed his eyes tight, grimacing, and then shook his head. "Not… not after…" He ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I was awake for some of it. In, in my head. Or his head. Like… like when I talk to him only the other way around I guess." Tony could tell he was struggling to explain it so he squeezed his arms to let him know it was okay. He understood what he was getting at. "But it was so loud and I could hear his thoughts. So many thoughts… about Wanda and Pietro. They… they were in danger." Bruce looked up at him with worried eyes as if asking him to tell him if it was true.

"They were," Tony confirmed. Bruce closed his pained eyes tight again and Tony wasn't sure how to react when he knew that Bruce's lament was over the thought of the twins being hurt.

"I was so scared," Bruce confessed, hanging his head and bringing his hands up to it. "I felt so helpless. So… so _useless_. Like I'd made a mistake. Like I should have stayed with them and not let Hulk out. I… I know he was doing everything to protect them, but…" Bruce looked at Tony again, eyes sad. "I was so afraid I'd wake up and…"

Tony didn't even want him to finish that thought because of what it would have meant. He shook his head and moved his hands from Bruce's arms so he could wrap his arms around him in a tight hug.

"They're okay, Bruce. They're here. They're safe. And you…" He shook his head again and pulled back to look at him, taking in Bruce's slightly stunned expression as he did. "You weren't useless. You made the right call. You were trusting the Other Guy, giving him control before those HYDRA assholes could trigger an incident. That… I think the Big Guy is swell, especially after tonight, but we both know that might have turned out differently. The kids might not have been prepared for that. This way, they were. And they think the Big Guy's swell too, for the record. It all… It all went okay in the end. I mean…" His breath finally caught as he remembered his own fear, his own feelings of helplessness, _uselessness_ , when he'd seen the QuinJet on fire. He hugged him tight again. "I understand, Bruce. I thought I was going to lose them just when I'd got them and I swear to you I wouldn't have blamed you. It would have been on me for even bringing them here in the first place."

Tony felt Bruce's arms move from being trapped between their bodies to wrap around him, returning the embrace. Bruce didn't say anything to reassure him, maybe didn't know what to say, but just holding Bruce and being held in return like this was more powerful and more calming than any words he might come up with – words Tony wouldn't likely believe anyway because he _knew_ he'd have blamed himself and nothing could change that.

"I'm glad they're okay," Bruce said, voice low and slightly muffled and, if Tony wasn't mistaken, sleepy when he finally did speak. He then pulled back and met Tony's gaze. Sure enough he looked like he might pass out again, but there was strange look in his eyes, like he was studying Tony and unsure of the equation.

It then dawned on Tony what it might be that made Bruce suddenly seem unsure. The fact that he was eyeing Bruce with only one desire in mind and already half the distance he'd previously been to Bruce's lips with lidded eyes couldn't be anything but obvious to the other man. Bruce's reaction on the other hand... not obvious as the physicist suddenly surged forward so that his lips landed firmly on Tony's.

Tony's brain stuttered and he remained unyielding in shock as all of his hopes and doubts and gestures and calculations flew through his mind's eye like an advanced string of code. Then they all converged on desire and he added pressure to Bruce's lips, waiting for his reaction at being kissed back. Bruce's reaction was to sigh so heavily that Tony suddenly wondered if he was even in his right mind anymore so he forced himself to pull back and look at his friend.

Bruce's eyes were still closed and he seemed only semi-conscious, which added a new layer of confusion to Tony's feelings. "Tony, why am I in your bed?" Bruce asked as if nothing had just happened, his voice a little distant and eyes still not having opened.

Tony sighed. He gently pushed Bruce back against the bed and stood over him. Bruce finally blinked open his eyes.

"Because I love you, Bruce, but I'm not carrying you all the way back to your bed."

Bruce's face scrunched slightly. "You love me?"

Tony resisted another sigh and shook his head fondly. He couldn't _not_ love him even when he drove him a little crazy.

"Goodnight, Bruce," he said instead of answering the question. "I'll have JARVIS order a bunch of take out for when you wake up again." Bruce hummed favorably.

Tony turned to leave, but then felt Bruce's hand wrapped firmly around his wrist. He glanced back in confusion.

"Where are you going?" Bruce was looking up at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

"I was just going to—"

Bruce pulled him back towards the bed. "Nuh-uh. You need to sleep too." He let go and rolled himself over to the other side of the bed to give Tony room. "Sleep, Tony," he said and then that was it before he was finally passed out again.

And because Tony _was_ tired even if he didn't want to sleep and more desperate for his best friend than ever, he laid down on the bed and forced himself to close his eyes and ignore every urge in his body, lungs, heart, brain, soul that told him to wrap himself around Bruce and never let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I'll never know why I always choose to write in action-y fandoms when I can't write action for anything.  
> 2\. Lots of development in this chapter. Super heavy. Let's see. Reveal to Steve (and Rhodey). Bruce being able to do the same thing Hulk does in his head. Wanda can levitate (although not fully controlled yet, hopefully it being anger/emotional based was clear since she was angry at Pietro and then later levitating the agent because of the motivation to do so - fear of being taken again). The twins finally refer to Tony as their dad. And Bruce. Uninhibited Bruce driving Tony crazy. Don't worry, Tony. The glacier is about to melt.  
> 3\. I hope to have this fic completely uploaded prior to the 11th (the start of Science Bros Week!). To see all of my writing goals/what I'm working on/updates, you can always check [this page](http://snark-and-banter.tumblr.com/agentsimmonsupdates) on my Tumblr which I even finally updated today :)


	9. Chapter 9

Bruce let out a long groan and opened his eyes. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck and he was starving. Of course, that made sense as he recalled the battle from the day before.

"Oh god," he said, sitting up quickly.

He was about to jump out of bed and hurry to find Tony regarding the twins when he looked around the room, down at the large bed, and his eyes widened. Suddenly he was assaulted with other memories. Hazy memories that he wasn't sure he could trust.

He was in Tony's room, in Tony's bed. Of that much he was certain. Tony was not in bed with him, but unless he'd been dreaming, he recalled practically pulling Tony into the bed with him and telling him to sleep. He recalled Tony hugging him tight after he'd woken up from his transformation. He recalled... Had he...?

He scrunched his face, trying to ascertain what had or hadn't happened, but his thoughts were derailed by JARVIS when the AI suddenly said, "Good morning, Dr. Banner. I was directed to inform you when you wake up that there is a smorgasbord for your benefit down in the common lounge."

Bruce rubbed his eyes. "Thanks, JARVIS."

He slowly rolled out of bed and contemplated his options. He needed to change into more than just the oversized clothes he'd taken with him in case he'd need them – oversized so it wouldn't be so hard for somebody else to make him decent after he shrunk back down since it was always a crapshoot if he'd wake up within a reasonable amount of time to do it himself. He also, of course, needed to use the bathroom.

He slowly rolled out of bed only to blink in surprise when his eyes caught the change of clothes sitting on the end of it. Not only were they his clothes, but he knew that Tony put them there because he'd selected one of the many purple shirts that Tony had stocked his closet with when he'd first arrived – something he still wasn't quite sure what to make of or sure he ever wanted to know why. Either way he smiled.

Once he was finished changing and making himself presentable in Tony's guest bathroom, he made his way to the common lounge. He was surprised to see not only Tony, Clint, and Natasha, but Steve and Pepper as well. They were sitting around the table, clearly discussing something of a tense nature. Or at least Tony seemed tense.

"Papa, Bruce is awake," Wanda called to Tony, noticing him first from where she and Pietro were watching television and eating.

Bruce stopped in his tracks. She'd just called Tony 'papa' without hesitating. He glanced over at Tony with wide eyes.

"Finally," Tony said, glancing over at him. "Bruce, you need to get over here and help me through the sudden shock I've just had."

Bruce blinked. _His_ sudden shock? He looked at the others; each were rolling their eyes. "Um, can I get some food first?" he asked earnestly.

"Yes, of course you can get some food first," Tony said. "Why do you even need to ask? I mean, I can tell you from here. Apparently two of the people in this room are in a relationship. Have _been_ in a relationship. Secretly."

"That's a really misleading way of phrasing that, Stark," Clint said. "Anyone would think you're talking about you and Banner."

Bruce recalled the night before again and froze for half a second while filling up his plate with as much food as possible. He heard Pepper give a snort of agreement.

"Stark and Banner?" Steve echoed in surprise. "Really?"

Bruce sighed as he walked over and joined them. "We're not dating, Steve." He didn't dare hazard a glance at Tony after making that comment.

"No," he could hear a slight edge to Tony's voice just the same, "but maybe you'd like to tell him who is, hmm, Steve?" Bruce furrowed his brow and glanced between Tony and Steve as he began to scarf down his food.

"Oh grow up, Tony," Pepper clipped and then looked at Bruce. "He means me and Steve. Steve and I are dating. _Dating_ ," she emphasized with a pointed look at Tony as if to say she'd go on saying it until he got over it.

"Oh?" Bruce simply raised a calm brow. He was far more interested in eating his body weight in food than he was in his teammates' love lives. Hell, he had no business having any say in their love lives when he couldn't even make sense of his own. His feelings for Tony were a jumbled mess that clearly were now _too_ jumbled.

"That's all you can say?" Tony looked at him as if betrayed. "My ex and the CEO of my father's company is dating my dad's old war buddy, the same war buddy my father spent a disturbing amount of time and money searching for mind you, and all you can say is oh?"

"You're right," Bruce said dryly. "I should say more than that." He looked at Pepper and Steve. "So how long? It's going well?"

Pepper gave an appreciative smile. "Almost two months," she answered. "We ran into each other at Phil's memorial. Got drinks. One thing led to another." She shrugged, then smiled and looked at Steve beside her. "I think it's going well."

"Pepper's amazing," Steve said with a fond smile of his own. He then scrunched his face a little and looked back and forth between her and Tony in a tentative fashion. "I keep wondering why Tony let her get away."

He was met with an awkward silence. Bruce glanced around along with him. "I've wondered that myself," Bruce said honestly, if only to put an end to the awkward silence. It only seemed to get more awkward as Natasha and Pepper smirked and Clint cleared his throat.

"You know," Steve tried again, scratching his cheek before letting his hand fall, "I really don't see how _our_ secret is the biggest elephant in the room. Fury didn't say anything about you having kids."

Tony snorted derisively. "Yeah, there's an understatement." Bruce stopped mid-bite and looked at Tony, then past him at the twins. He stopped eating like it was his last meal and focused on the new turn of the conversation should Tony need him. "Fury didn't even say anything to me directly. JARVIS merely managed to find it out while he was digging for all their dirty little secrets." Bruce remembered Steve's disapproval of that back on board the Helicarrier, but could he still deny the justification in Tony's actions? "And you wonder why I don't trust Fury," he echoed Steve's accusation from that day.

"You're telling me you didn't know?" Steve asked skeptically, ignoring any rise Tony's prickly comment might have been able to get from him under less serious circumstances. "Until recently?"

"Short and sweet and since three people at this table already know the truth, I was for all intents and purposes raped by HYDRA," Tony replied brusquely. Bruce suddenly lost his appetite altogether.

"You what?" Steve straightened in his chair and Bruce glanced at him to see his face darkened. He seemed ready to do something drastic. That was a good thing regarding Steve's trustworthiness.

"I… I didn't know, Stark," Natasha replied with surprising vulnerability. "I wouldn't have said what I said about it being weird…"

"Look," Tony interrupted, "let me stop you both right there. First of all, I'm not looking for your sympathy. It's weird for me knowing that the two best things to happen to me are a result of my having once been violated without even knowing it. Okay? You don't need to sugar coat it and you don't need to feel sorry for me." Natasha nodded once slowly. "As for you, Cap, well, sorry I didn't drop everything and text you the juicy details about my having found out the past three years of my life have _been_ _a sham_ because nobody felt it important enough to inform me they'd found _my_ children being held fucking _captive_ like—"

" _Tony_ ," Bruce stopped him sharply and Tony looked at him with seething eyes before they softened again in realization. He quickly looked at his children and saw their attention was fixed raptly in their direction. He then looked back at Bruce a little helplessly. "It's just not one of those things you know how to share with others, even if you trust them," Bruce tried to explain more calmly.

"I knew he had children," Natasha intervened as well, "but I didn't know the extent of it. I just assumed he…"

"Fucked, dumped and lo and behold SHIELD found the resulting children?" Tony asked blandly, like he wasn't even willing to fight the assumption anymore.

"Yes," she said to the point. "But I was wrong. And I should have trusted you to tell me the truth in time."

"I like to think I'd have managed it eventually. The situation just forced a premature reveal. I... I never would have taken them into danger like that willingly for it to happen," Tony said with a clench of one fist and slightly haunted look in his eyes.

There was a long, pregnant sort of pause.

"You know you jump to a lot of assumptions, Stark," Steve broke it, frowning slightly. "I wasn't going to say anything else except ask how the hell HYDRA managed to do that and then I was maybe going to apologize for not taking down every last agent while I had a chance back in the day. I was also thinking this goes beyond Fury having blood on his hands."

There was a surprised silence from the table, particularly from Tony. Bruce smiled as he realized this team just might work after all. That was good. Tony needed this. He was starting to come to grips with the fact that maybe he did too.

*

"You okay?"

Bruce started as he finished stirring his homemade chai tea. After all the food, and the stressful conversation that had gone with it, he needed it for his digestion. Tony had elaborated on his encounter with HYDRA and why they'd wanted his sperm in the first place, explaining to them they'd had a hypothesis that the offspring of two super IQs would have more susceptibility to experimentation and given a brief, _very brief_ since they were still in the room, mention of how the twins had been subjected to experiments that produced their abilities before SHIELD found them – he needed it for his digestion. He glanced over his shoulder to see Tony standing a few feet away, concern in his expression, as he studied him. Bruce felt his stomach settle strangely as he realized this was the closest they'd been since… since whatever had happened the night before.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" he deflected. "The team knows your secret. Well, minus Thor."

"So that's what you've been thinking about," Tony said knowingly, reading him like a book. There seemed to be a hint of something underlying his statement however. It wasn't relief, but it wasn't exactly pleasure. Bruce grabbed his mug in both hands and turned to look at Tony, leaning against the counter slightly. He blew on the steam if only to give himself something to do. "Is that chai?" Bruce smiled and nodded as Tony took a step closer. "My one exception," he said with a deep breath in. He liked the spices and the milk, or at least he liked how Bruce made it so he told him. Bruce took a sip to test the heat, since clearly he needed to, before proffering it in the engineer's direction. Tony smiled broadly and took it. "You spoil me."

"You spoiled me first," Bruce replied wryly as he took the mug back.

"But you don't have to worry yourself about the conversation earlier," Tony bridged the conversation.

Bruce took a long sip and then sighed. "Yes, I do." He hung his head a little as he passed the mug back to Tony. "And it's not just that." He glanced up to see the mug pause at Tony's lips, the other man clearly tentative.

"It's not?" Maybe he was tentative for the same reason Bruce was, but he wasn't going to bring that part up. Not yet when there was a more pressing matter on his mind.

Bruce shook his head and turned a little so he could smooth his hand along the cool surface of the granite countertop. "I've been keeping an eye on Wanda and Pietro since this morning. I think... I think the conversation upset them more than they're letting on."

Tony furrowed his brow. He couldn't have noticed because he'd first been in a last minute Stark Industries press conference that had been scheduled once the media had gotten wind of Pepper being at the WSC Peace Summit and part of the hostage situation. He set down the mug and his hand came to rest on the countertop as well and Bruce was more than aware that their fingertips were centimeters away from brushing.

Bruce didn't pull back since that would just make it more awkward, but he had to wonder at when it had become awkward to begin with. He and Tony were always touching, brushing shoulders and hands, so it shouldn't be such a big deal. Hell, he was suddenly aware that sharing a mug of tea like it was the most perfectly natural thing in the world might be ranked as more intimate. Honestly, if he were being realistic brushing fingertips was mild compared to most of the things they did together – the one kiss aside, _or was it two?_ – which was likely why Clint was convinced they _were_ together. So, honestly, the reason for the awkwardness now had fully to do with Bruce's desire to reach out and take Tony's hand in his without it being more than it had ever been as a gesture, but after the night before Tony would know it was a lie.

"How have they been?" Tony asked in fatherly concern, conviction in his voice. Bruce felt his stomach flutter a little ridiculously, but he just couldn't help it. It got to him every single time Tony proved he cared about his kids.

"Pietro asked if they could train for a bit," Bruce answered, looking down at their hands for a moment. "The 'just in case' seemed implied," he continued, glancing back up to meet Tony's gaze. Tony gave a small nod. "Wanda… she refused to go anywhere near the training room. Not even for a game when Clint offered."

Tony frowned. "She was afraid."

"I think so," Bruce agreed. "She'd been doing better so for her to regress like, it seems likely it was because she was reminded of her previous association."

"Time for a distraction," Tony said plaintively. Bruce's eyes widened slightly. "Any suggestions? I'd say preferably we start with something away from the tower and then come back and have a movie party with whatever movies they choose and maybe throw in some pizza."

"Overload their schedule so they don't have time to think too much," Bruce guessed his line of logic. "But I think I'd nix the pizza," he said in a considering tone.

"Why's that?"

"Well, if they are struggling with their demons right now, the last thing you want is to give them anything that might promote dreaming. Because if they dream it's likely—"

"Going to turn into a nightmare," Tony supplied the rest of the theory before Bruce finished. "Right. So, not sure how I'm going to do that exactly."

Bruce gave it some thought. "How about I look for a few good recipes that promote relaxation and restful sleep. Then we can kill two birds with one stone by taking them to the grocery to get whatever we'd need for the meal." He held up the hand not on the counter in askance.

Tony smiled broadly and reached his hand forward, enclosing his fingers gently around Bruce's wrist. "You are a genius. Amazing. I…" He seemed to genuinely falter for a moment. Then as if nothing had happened he eagerly said, "I'm going to go find the twins and let them know."

Before Bruce could blink, let alone process anything, Tony was gone – rushing out of the room to do just that. Bruce stared in the direction he'd gone, then glanced down at his hand, and finally glanced at his unfinished tea. He really wasn't sure what had just happened.

***

Tony watched the twins' bright faces marvel over the fresh foods market that Bruce enjoyed shopping at on occasion – when he didn't feel like relying on JARVIS to have groceries delivered to the tower – and felt a mixture of confusion and delight over their eager response. He was glad to see them distracted as had been the plan, but wondered why they acted like it was as exciting as the toy store.

If Bruce wondered too, he didn't say anything, merely just indulged their incessant questions as he led them through the labyrinth of produce and meats. Tony staid back a little to let Bruce lead the expedition and to watch him interact with Pietro and Wanda, the now-all-too-familiar warmth burgeoning in his chest at nearly every turn through the market.

"I don't like fish," Pietro suddenly protested, pulling Tony from his thoughts and causing Bruce to turn away from where he'd been naming a few different types to Wanda in answer to her questions.

"You eat fish sticks," Wanda said with an exasperated sigh.

"You know," Tony decided to step in, "Bruce's fish doesn't taste like that nasty stuff they probably feed you at school."

Pietro gave a dubious look to that and Wanda sighed again. "He's going to be impossible," she said.

"It runs in the family," Bruce said in a teasing tone, glancing at Tony. Wanda giggled and Tony responded with a very mature tongue out at them both. "But if he prefers fish sticks that can be arranged."

"Really?" Tony asked skeptically at the same time Pietro asked hopefully.

"Jinx!" Pietro called.

"I owe him a soda," Tony said with a soft chuckle. He then looked back at Bruce. "I didn't know this place even sold fish sticks."

"It doesn't," Bruce said with a thin smile and shake of his head. Tony saw Pietro's shoulders slump from the corner of his eye. "That doesn't mean I can't slice up some of the cod I was going to get and make some homemade breading."

Tony blinked. "Were you a five-star chef in a former life?"

"I hope so," Bruce said with a chuckle. "Sounds like fun. So, how does that sound, Pietro?" He looked down at the boy in question.

"As long as they're fish sticks," Pietro said with a shrug.

"Alright, then."

"I think you _should_ at least try some of the fish the other way," Tony said thoughtfully, but he supposed they could attempt that at a later time given the disgusted expression on Pietro's face.

With that settled and a pound of Alaskan cod wrapped and in their basket, they moved next to get, according to Bruce's list, spinach and cherries. As they walked toward the produce Wanda suddenly grabbed at Tony's arm, jerking him to stop.

"Look!" she exclaimed in an eager whisper. Bruce and Pietro stopped as well and they all looked to see a young woman with an intricate side braid that Tony couldn't even begin to fathom how she'd gotten it to look like that. "Papa, can you learn that braid?"

Tony looked at Bruce with wide eyes and the physicist gave a small, mischievous smirk. "Yeah, papa, let's see you learn that braid."

"I don't think that's a braid. I think that's voodoo," Tony replied, glancing back at the braid. "What is it even called?"

"You could go ask," Bruce suggested, looking directly at Wanda.

She immediately looked up at Tony, silently asking for permission. "Go ahead," he told her. She was only a few stands over and Tony wouldn't let her out of his sight so he figured there wasn't any harm in it. Not to mention he knew she wasn't in any danger what with a brother with superhuman speed, her own bag of tricks, a man who could go Hulk at any minute, a dad with bracelets that called a suit to him, and a handler who was running perimeter as part of his duty to protect her.

Wanda let go of his arm and hurried over to the woman. Pietro took a few steps forward, eyes watching her with an intent focus. Tony shook his head and watched her as well as he joined Bruce where the man was picking out spinach.

"There's no way I can do that braid," Tony mumbled in defeat as Wanda spoke animatedly with the woman, who as far as Tony could tell was being kind about being approached by a little girl.

Bruce chuckled. "Not yet maybe. But I think it'll mean more to her if you just try."

"I'd like to see you try," Tony responded a little impishly, a challenging smirk in Bruce's direction. He saw Bruce glance at the woman as if in study.

"Sure. If she wants me to," he then said and Tony felt his smirk soften into a smile. Because Bruce was perfect. Bruce was everything a guy with kids could ask for in a friend and would be even more amazing not only as a lover, but also as a co-parent which was not something Tony would have cared about adding to the list of winning traits before.

"Bruce, las—" Tony stopped sharply when Bruce went tense beside him. He immediately worried it was because the physicist had guessed the topic his brain had gotten carried away with wanting to breach, but then he realized it was something else because Bruce had an almost hunted look in his eyes and he was glancing around. "What is it?"

"I… I don't know." Bruce looked at Pietro. "Tell your sister to come back over now," he said calmly and Pietro nodded before going to do so.

"Bruce?" Tony's eyes immediately darted back to his kids.

"I feel like we're being watched," Bruce said under his breath and Tony went as stiff as a board as his hair stood on end.

"Clint?" Tony suggested hopefully as the twins returned.

"Hmm-mm. Multiple eyes," he said with a shake of his head. "Maybe just my imagination."

"Maybe paparazzi," Tony offered, trying to rationalize what it could be.

Bruce glanced at him. "That... That's possible," he conceded in a tentative tone.

"Still, we'll probably feel better if we grab the rest really quick and head back," Tony decided and Bruce nodded.

*

"You can do better than that, Stark," Natasha jeered from where she lounged in one of the chaise, sprawled like a pampered feline and equally judgmental.

"Doubtful," Clint ribbed from one of the couches where he and Steve sat watching the second lighthearted film the kids had picked. At least somebody was watching it seeing as Natasha was reading a book when not giving Tony a hard time, Pietro was already passed out on the floor where he'd made a small nest of pillows at the start of their film-watching, and Wanda was braiding a doll's hair while Tony attempted to braid hers with Bruce's guidance.

"Ignore them," Bruce said evenly. "And focus on trying not to get the strands crossed," he said, pointing to a spot in the braid.

Tony sighed and let go of Wanda's hair. "This is ridiculous. I can work magic with my hands in the…" He looked at Bruce with a raised brow. "…super-secret science clubhouse?" Bruce scrunched his face in a considering fashion, but then shook his head. "But I can't braid hair?"

"Well, I'm convinced hair has a mind of its own," Bruce said with a sigh, running a hand through his own. "How about we try pig tails. That's less hair to work with and we can each take a side. Wanda, are you okay with pig tails?"

She shrugged wordlessly. Tony could tell she was on the verge of crashing like her brother already had. Bruce pointed at the brush beside Tony and Tony grabbed it in comprehension. He started brushing through the tangled mess he'd caused so they could start over.

"Okay, so how do we do this?" Tony asked jokingly and ignored the snorts from his team mates.

"We section her hair into two," Bruce said patiently, missing the joke.

"I was kidding," Tony told him with a fond smile. "Even I know the general basics of how pigtails work."

"I'll bet," Natasha said derisively.

"Hey now. No crass insinuations," Tony chastised her with a playful glare.

"I'm not even going to try and figure that one out," Steve mumbled with a shake of his head.

"Probably for the best, Steve," Bruce replied with a reassuring smile in his direction. "Alright, so now that we've got the hair in two sections, we each take our section and divide it into three smaller sections. With me so far?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes, teacher," Tony said with a smirk as he began the now-familiar process of dividing hair into three sections, fumbling as usual to keep them separated.

"I thought you said no crass insinuations," Natasha quipped and Bruce choked a little, causing Tony's smirk to widen.

Bruce cleared his throat and then said, "Okay, now just follow my lead. We'll go through this slowly."

Tony nodded and every time Bruce looped a strand over the other, he mimicked the process. Bruce's somehow still turned out smoother and a tad tighter in comparison to his, with a few strands clearly having gotten mixed with the wrong section over the course of the braid and less twists, but it still looked significantly better than what he'd yet managed with all of her hair at once.

"Hey, it looks like a braid," he crowed as he let go and Wanda startled.

"Huh?" she mumbled before turning slightly so that her cheek was pressed against the cushion of the couch.

Bruce gave a soft chuckle. "Looks like she's clocked out on us."

Tony smiled fondly and gently stroked the crown of her head a few times. "Yeah, looks like it. Guess two braids at once was extra relaxing."

"They're kind of cute when they're asleep," Natasha said with a hint of a lilt, but Tony knew that was her way of saying she was attached to them in her own way. "Did they get that from you, Stark?"

"Hey, you're welcome to find out for yourself," he said with an obnoxious wink and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't let your kids hear you say that," she remarked and he decided that was enough of that conversation.

He glanced between his kids. "Not that I probably couldn't carry both of them," he said with a shrug before looking at Bruce, "but you think you can grab Wanda while I grab Pietro?"

"Sure thing," Bruce replied.

Tony got up from the couch and walked over to where Pietro was practically snoring nearer to the television. He crouched down and carefully scooped the boy into his arms and then slowly stood up straight, adjusting him so that he was more firmly in his arms. He turned and was surprised to see Steve in front of him.

"Cap?"

"I just…" Steve looked strangely sheepish. "I just want to say I'm sorry if the way I acted last night or this morning was offensive in any way or if you got the wrong idea. I may not know much about kids or parenting, but I can tell you're really trying and that you really care about your twins. I promise you, you have my support however you need it."

Tony blinked, but then he smiled genuinely. "Thanks, Steve. I appreciate it. And, you know, sorry if I came across a little prickly about the subject. Or, distrusting I guess."

"I think I can understand why you did," Steve said in an understanding tone. Tony nodded and started to move past him toward the elevator, but he stopped when he felt Steve's hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at him in confusion. "And, Tony, I think I also understand now why you let Pepper go," he said quietly and looked toward the elevator. Tony followed his gaze and saw Bruce had made his way there and was swaying ever so slightly as he held Wanda.

Tony swallowed hard and gave a single nod as Steve let go of his shoulder so he could go join the other man in question. His thoughts had been on overload for the past twenty-four hours where Bruce was concerned. Telling the team and distracting his children had been a good distraction for himself, but if even Steve could see Tony's longing clear as day then there was nothing left for him.

As they rode the elevator to his apartment, it was quiet so Tony was left with Steve's words and his own thoughts. He couldn't pretend the night before hadn't happened or that he wasn't perhaps being a little dishonest with Bruce. He needed to find a way to clear the air and let Bruce know that he still had feelings, let him know it was still okay if Bruce didn't feel the same, but also ask him once and for all if there were any reciprocal feelings because he just couldn't tell anymore. He'd thought there had been feelings, but then it seemed like there weren't any, and now he was back to wondering if maybe just maybe… or maybe he was the one coming on too strong and distorting everything, in which case Bruce might have just been having a natural reaction to Tony's physicality again. He sighed and Bruce gave him a small, concerned glance.

"Seems like your meal did the trick," he said conversationally, no longer able to stand the silence, as they entered his apartment.

"Let's just hope they don't have nightmares," Bruce responded.

"I guess it's inevitable. Not sure I'll know how to deal with it when it does happen." Bruce gave him a knowing look since, truth be told, Tony wasn't much able to handle his own nightmares – and there had been plenty right after his little trip through the portal – let alone the nightmares of a child. "But I'll try my best."

"That's all you can do." Bruce's voice was warm and reassuring as they entered the twins' bedroom and moved to the individual beds.

Tony deposited Pietro onto his bed and tucked him in. Just as he stood up straight again he heard Wanda's soft, sleepy voice say, "G'nigh, papa." He turned to see Bruce frozen in place for a moment and he could only guess what the physicist might be thinking. Finally, he shook his head and took a few steps back.

"Guess that was meant for you," Bruce said, a touch of melancholy in his voice that Tony didn't miss as he moved passed the physicist toward the door.

Tony stopped in the doorway and turned to watch his children as he routinely did now and Bruce came over to stand beside him. They stood their quietly for a moment, Tony just smiling as he thought about how lucky he was that this had happened, how he could only wish he'd had them the first eight years of their lives and that their lives had been better, how Bruce's body felt like the missing half of him as it leaned into his, how—

Tony registered the location of his arm, definitely wrapped around Bruce's back, and then registered the way Bruce's hands were woven around that arm so they were clasped together atop his shoulder. He turned to look at Bruce and, noticing his motion perhaps, Bruce turned to meet his gaze. His brown eyes were soft and smiling for a few shining seconds before he too seemed to realize what Tony had and blinked at him with wide eyes. Several thoughts went through Tony's head at lightning speed as he waited for one of them to recoil.

Then, faster than Tony could even process it let alone catch who had moved first, their lips were joined together. Tony's hands had somehow found Bruce's face, both having turned into one another and Bruce's hands were clinging to his shirt. The kiss was messy, bruising, nothing short of hungry. They both moaned at nearly the same time and what was left of Tony's functioning brain managed to pull away just enough to reach for the twins' door, Bruce catching the drift and moving so that he could close it, leaving them in the hallway.

Then Tony's lips were back on Bruce's like it had been years, not seconds, since they'd last been there and the force of his lunge for the other man sent Bruce several steps back in surprise, a moan passing from his mouth to be swallowed by Tony instead. This kiss was no less desperate than the first and the power of it edged them a few steps further still until Bruce was pressed all too nicely against a wall. They each had a hand in the other's hair, Tony relishing in the way Bruce's carded through his own in time with his fingers tugging through Bruce's irresistible tresses.

Tony's senses were on the verge of overload as he got drunk on Bruce until it wasn't enough anymore. He broke away almost violently, both with a gasp from the sudden suction of air, and pressed his lips instead to Bruce's cheek and then jaw and then up to his ear, practically nuzzling him as the physicist breathed in and out deeply in time with his own ragged breathing.

"I want you," Tony said and he wasn't sure if he was the one who growled in desperate frustration or Bruce. "I want you so fucking much," he said again for emphasis, grazing his teeth along Bruce's stubbly jaw back down until he was close enough to devour Bruce's lips again.

Bruce immediately deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue past Tony's lips and stealing his breath with his own unique brand of power. He didn't seem to be struggling for dominance, but he still seemed eager to give as good as get. Already Tony wanted to make a long study of all the different reactions he might be able to coerce from Bruce in bed, seeing as he was already an enigma.

As if reading his thoughts, Bruce pulled away with a slightly terrified look in his eyes. "I… I have to tell you something," he stammered between heavy breaths. "I… can't. Can't do this…" Tony opened his mouth to protest. "…without telling you," he finished before Tony could say anything.

"Then tell me," Tony said with what sounded even to him like an edge of desperation in his voice. Because at the moment he was fairly certain Bruce could tell him just about _anything_ and he would still want him right here and now.  

"This…" Bruce shook his head in an apologetic fashion. "This won't just be casual for me. I'm sorry if—"

"Who said anything about casual?" Tony's senses came back just enough and he stepped back slightly so he could really study Bruce.

He heard the words 'fetish' and 'playboy' echo in his mind and narrowed his eyes. Did Bruce seriously still think that all Tony could possibly want was a casual fuck or two? After everything? He wondered what else he could possibly have done to prove otherwise by this point. Propose? Wasn't it obvious that he was disgustingly head over heels for him?

"I just think," he continued, "it’s fair you know how I really feel so there aren’t any surprises." He closed his eyes. "I… I want this, Tony. But I’m sure it’s obvious by now I want more." His eyes opened again. Tony felt his heart threaten to burst and take the reactor with it. "But I-I don’t want you to think I’m expecting you to feel what you don’t just beca—"

"Obvious," Tony choked out the word. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or scream. "I don't think we know the meaning of the word," he said to the strange look Bruce gave him. Tony shook his head and slowly moved back in for a more tender kiss, giving Bruce a chance to pull away if he wanted, but of course he didn't. "You really want this?" Tony mumbled against his lips as he started to pull him towards his bedroom.

"So much…I can't…" Bruce mumbled back between kisses. "…stand it anymore."

Tony couldn't fight a broad smile as they literally tumbled into his bed. "Then I think it's only fair you know how I really feel so there aren't any surprises," he said as he looked Bruce over, feeling his arousal intensify at just the sight of him already thoroughly mussed and waiting for more. He pressed a few kisses to the other man's neck and jaw before looking him directly in his gorgeous, lust-glazed eyes. "I don't want this to be casual _and_ I happen to be in love with you."

Said eyes widened and dilated. "You… You're in love with me?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear Wanda that one time?" Tony asked with a huff of a laugh.

"I… I thought she meant me," Bruce said breathlessly.

"Ninety-eight percent certain she meant me," Tony replied with a smile. "Are you okay with that?"

Bruce's mouth fell open and he looked at him with an expression so filled with polarizing emotions that Tony wasn't sure how to read it. He could only tell that Bruce was overwhelmed.

"No," he answered in a cracked voice before latching onto Tony like he might disappear if he didn't seize the opportunity, like he himself might disappear if he let himself think too much about the situation he'd found himself in. But that was okay. That was just Bruce. And Tony loved him in spite of it.

All that mattered was they were on the same page now. They'd been on the same page this whole time and he wasn't going to waste another minute now that they realized it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Steve/Pepper is my cousin's favorite pairing (before Bruce/Tony even). She laments that it's not more popular or is only ever Pepper/Steve/Tony (and like me she doesn't ship Steve/Tony). So I decided to throw in some Steve/Pepper for her (I'm not adverse to the pairing anyways). Sorry for those who aren't feeling it I guess, but her delighted 2 a.m. text when she got to that part made it worth it to me. It doesn't get any real development in this story if that helps ( ~~which means it actually fits the criteria for being a canon pairing in the MCU these days ahahahahahaha~~ ).  
> 2\. No offense is intended towards anyone who grew up in the system/a children's home. I am well aware some home's are better than others. I have known a few who were lucky to live in a smaller home where that had good funding, but then I have known at least a handful whose life experiences were a little limited because they literally went to school and back with sometimes a field trip if they could raise funding. I imagine Pietro and Wanda's home as somewhere in between because like Clint said, don't want too much suspicion - plus they have extra special kids to care for/keep safe/etc.  
> 3\. Oh these two with their domesticity kink finally being what does them in lol. (I couldn't resist. I wanted it to be a little silly that they're just like 'oh shit we're already basically married? okay kissing now.')  
> 4\. Following the happy text about Steve/Pepper I got an angry text from my cousin about the fade to black lol. I told her something along the lines of "trust me you don't want me to write actual smut because it would be as goofy as the rest of my writing and probably containing the very few kinks I actually have and it would take you out of the story".  
> 5\. One chapter a day between now and Sunday when it will be completed :) If I have time though it may be finished Friday night. We'll see.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In light of recent gun violence and tragedy, please note that from here on out the story does get a little bit heavier and has at least three incidents that I can think of that involves point blank gun use with intent to kill (one imagined, one remembered, and one attempted). Please take care of yourself. If you have to stop reading and come back to this story later, I understand and I'm sorry about the timing. I wish comics weren't so violent - but I guess that's a hypocritical and moot point as I'm contributing to violent imagery by utilizing it for story building purposes.

"How are you feeling?" Tony's low, raspier than usual, voice broke through his thoughts. His voice was slightly muffled from where it was buried in the pillow beside him. Bruce had woken up a quite a bit sooner than Tony. He'd contemplated ducking out, but he'd been afraid he'd wake up and Tony would be the one not there so he couldn't bring himself to do it either. When Bruce didn't answer right away Tony raised his head slightly off the pillow and gave him a curious glance. "Are you having regrets?"

"Regrets?" Bruce blinked at him and then looked up at the ceiling. "No," he said, a little sleepily. Confused, surprised, afraid. Those were words that could describe what he'd felt since waking up next to the other man and was flooded with the memories of why. "Relieved," he settled on at last. "I guess I'm feeling relieved."

He could hear Tony's smile without having to see it. "I'll bet."

Bruce gave an inaudible snort. "Well, yeah, that. It was a hell of a dry spell. It's surprising I didn't act like a virgin." He was pretty certain this wasn't normal pillow talk, but he couldn't exactly remember the last specific time he'd had that or what he and Betty had even talked about. "But I’m… I don't know… relieved in a lot of ways I guess." He sighed.

"I'm relieved Big Green didn't show up, no offense in there, buddy," Tony said after a stretch of silence, no doubt attempting to keep the mood light.

Bruce turned his head sideways on the pillow to look at Tony. He gave a small, amused smile and nodded softly in agreement. He had to admit he was relieved too that Hulk, after prodding him for so long, had made good on his word that Tony was different and that he wouldn't interfere.

"I couldn't even kiss Betty," Bruce reminded him, having told him once at nearly the beginning of their friendship.

"Yeah, sort of why I asked you back at headquarters. I was a little surprised when you said it'd be okay, but I went with it," he said with a shrug. "And you kissed me the night before last and everything seemed fine."

"So I did kiss you. Good to know," Bruce said thoughtfully. It hardly mattered now though. "I, uh, actually asked Hulk about that. About the first kiss, that is."

"You kissed and told?" Tony asked in mock offense.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Kissed and asked," he clarified. "And apparently you have his approval. He… He knew about my feelings a long time before I was willing to admit them. I think having the Hulk tell me to go for it has been the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me, and let's be real a lot of weird stuff has happened to me."

Tony lifted up to his elbow and studied him with an amused look. "Tell him I'm flattered for me," he said with an earnest smile. Because only Tony could hear such a ridiculous thing and not even bat an eye, rather encourage it. "And, to be fair, everybody knew about our feelings before we were willing to admit them… to each other, anyway. Although, also to be fair, I thought I was being fairly obvious and you just weren't interested."

"And I thought I was being obvious and you were just being you." Bruce shook his head. "I thought maybe you wanted something casual and I didn't want to complicate things when you needed my support with the twins."

"Hey," Tony said, nudging him and then deftly rolling over so that he was hovering over him with hands propping him up on either side of Bruce. "I understand. And the fact that you didn't want to take any chances so you could be there for me, and my kids?" Tony looked him intently in the eyes. "It just makes me love you that much more."

Bruce let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and quickly surged forward, capturing Tony's lips. His hand moved to rest on Tony's neck and he pulled him down closer. Their mouths moved together so easily that it felt like Bruce had spent his entire life kissing the other man. He couldn't help but wish he had now that he'd gotten a proper taste.

"Tony," he gasped his name intuitively as he pulled away finally in need of oxygen.

"I could get used to hearing that," Tony said with a slightly wicked grin before expertly moving his lips along his jaw and then up to his ear. He didn't hesitate to lick the outer shell of his ear before nibbling down to a sensitive spot just beneath, one Tony had already made a study of. Bruce moaned in appreciation. "So why are you relieved?" Tony then whispered low. "You've got me titillated with anticipation."

"I can tell," Bruce said with a chuckle before bucking up against Tony where he'd begun to twitch in response to everything. Tony pulled his lips away from where they'd settled just below his jaw and groaned.

"Tease."

Bruce chuckled softly. "I'm relieved just because everything is good right now for me, I guess," he then indulged. "I feel like I'm in a good place and it's… It's a nice change." Tony looked down on him with a surprisingly soft face that Bruce knew not many people had the privilege of seeing. "I'm also a little relieved you haven't run out on me now that we've fucked," he then said less sentimentally because he knew Tony would appreciate the raw humor.

"Are you kidding me?" Tony huffed out a laugh and pressed their groins harder together. He then leaned back down and pitched his voice huskily against his ear. "I haven't even begun to have you all the ways I want you, let alone all the ways I want you to have me." Bruce shivered, eyes closing tight in response. If Tony kept talking to him like that, they'd probably never leave the bedroom. Then again, Tony was nothing if not a talker. "And the relief is mutual. You're the one who should have hightailed it out of here. You realize you're too good for me, right?"

"You're ridiculous," Bruce said in disbelief and captured Tony's lips again.

The kiss was the right balance between tender and bruising and Bruce flipped them over, relishing in Tony's genuinely surprised – and pleased – _mmph_ against his lips. They continued on at a heady pace until the kiss slowed into something lazier on its own. Finally, Bruce broke the contact with a sigh and moved just enough so he could lay atop Tony with his head buried against his chest. He could feel the warmth and light vibrations of the arc reactor and it stirred every instinct he had to protect.

"Too tired?" Tony asked playfully.

Bruce responded by placing a few kisses on the skin he could reach in his position. "No," he said upon one of those kisses. He then begrudgingly sat up and looked down at the confused engineer. "But it's Monday morning."

"And?" Tony furrowed his brow. "Not like we have 9 to 5 jobs. I have a meeting later, but I'm all yours until then."

Bruce smiled and gave a noncommittal hum. "As nice as that sounds, I think your kids would disagree."

"They can just hang out with—" Clarity dawned in Tony's eyes. "Shit, it's a school day." Bruce chuckled and rolled off so the other man could get up in a panic. "JARVIS, what time is it?"

"It is 6:14 a.m."

"Okay, okay. That's fine. They usually don't get up for another ten minutes or so. That's not so bad." He breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Bruce. "See, this is why I need you." He looked down then with a frustrated groan. "In more ways than one."

Bruce chuckled perhaps a little too mercilessly at Tony's predicament. "You're only half-hard, Tony. It could be worse."

"Evil," Tony said with a frown, even as he trekked to the en suite.

"Sorry," Bruce apologized as he followed. "But there's really no time," he then said more reasonably.

"Yeah, yeah," Tony said with a nod as he grabbed an outfit and then another for Bruce. They then spent the next several minutes of morning routine with Tony grumbling and asking Bruce to help him brainstorm 'unsexy things' which was somehow far more amusing than it should have been. Then again, it was Tony.

"I should probably head back to my place," Bruce said thoughtfully as they made their way to the living area finally.

"If you must," Tony said with a playful sigh. "But not without a proper goodbye," he then said more seriously, pulling Bruce around and into his arms for a kiss. Bruce couldn't help but smile into it.

They were both broken from their reverie at the sound of two startled gasps and a, "Wanda! Look!"

"So much for discretion," Bruce mumbled with a glance at Tony before they both turned to see the twins already awake and watching a cartoon of some sort, although their eyes were fixed on them and not the television.

Suddenly Pietro was in front of them, staring up at them with wide eyes. He glanced at his dad hopefully. "Are you dating the Hulk now?"

Wanda ran over next. "No, Pietro, he's dating Bruce," she said in a put-upon tone. She then glanced up between them. "Right?" Bruce glanced at Tony at the same time he glanced at him with one eyebrow raised in askance.

"I swear, when you said to come visit Candyland this was not at all what I was expecting," he said in non-answer, shaking his head in amusement. "I think I'm a victim of false advertisement. Am I on a reality show right now? Is _I Accidentally Married Tony Stark_ a TLC program that I should know about?" Bruce asked playfully and Tony gave a soft snort.

"Maybe, but for the record you brought up marriage first," Tony returned the banter with a quick wag of his finger.

"Well, you brought kids into it," Bruce countered, eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face. "Just thought I'd keep it respectable." He shrugged.

"So are you dating or aren't you?" Pietro interjected impatiently.

Bruce smiled back down at the twins and took a leap. "We are," he said.

"We are," Tony echoed, reaching for his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Bruce knew it was his way of letting him know that was the answer he'd been hoping for.

"Finally," Wanda said with an exaggerated sigh of relief. She then hugged them both. But when she backed away she gave them a scrutinizing look. "Did he sleep over?"

Bruce choked on air. "I'm, uh, going to go make some breakfast," he said quickly.

"Wanda, you're not supposed to ask grownups that," Pietro was the one to chastise this time. Bruce stopped to look back at the scene curiously, waiting for how Tony would handle it. 

"Your brother's right on this one," Tony intervened. "It makes the grownups uncomfortable." Bruce realized that his answer didn't deny the obvious, but it still drew boundaries. He smiled, wondering if Tony even realized how good he was getting at this parenting thing. "Now I'm pretty sure it's not pajama day at school so you two need to go get ready."

Pietro groaned, but rushed off to do so just the same. Wanda crinkled her nose. "Okay, but can I wear the braids?" she asked in regards to the pig tails she still wore.

Tony crouched down and inspected them and then glanced at Bruce. Bruce could see they were a little sleep mussed, but messy pig tails weren't typically a big deal.

"It should be fine," he said with a shrug. "We can smooth down some of the fly-away hairs and nobody will be any the wiser."

"Then I guess that's a yes," Tony said, looking back at Wanda.

"Thanks," she said, giving him another hug. Then she grabbed his face and said very seriously, "Don't mess this up. Bruce is special. Got it?" Bruce's eyes were probably comically wide as he blinked in surprise.

Tony merely smiled and nodded as he carefully removed Wanda's hands. "Got it."

*

"Hey munchkins," Happy greeted first as the twins piled into the backseat of the car, backpacks in hand.

"Hi, Happy," they greeted back in unison. Then Wanda tilted her head when she noticed the obvious difference in today's routine. "Where's papa?"

Bruce smiled. The endearment was still new so always touching whenever he heard it. He was happy that Wanda hadn't backed off of saying it, rather said it more often than at first. And he hoped it would be the push Pietro needed to start opening up as well. While he no longer seemed ready to question every little thing that was said or done for an ulterior motive, at least not where Tony was concerned, and he seemed to be relaxing in the atmosphere, he still had a compulsive habit of checking on Wanda's whereabouts and the second Wanda became suspicious of anything, he was ready to charge at the speed of light.

"Your dad had a meeting," he answered her question. "He asked me to come get you." He would have done so anyways, but it was somehow more surreal picking up Tony's kids now that he was 'the boyfriend.' "So, how was your day?" he asked as the car started moving.

"It was okay," Pietro answered without enthusiasm, but then he brightened. "Oh! But in art class I painted Hulk!" Bruce snapped his head back a little in surprise. "I can't bring it home until next week, but we got to use the fancy paints and were told to paint someone we look up to so I painted Hulk."

"You…" Bruce wasn't sure how to process that. He couldn't get over how much interest Pietro took in the Hulk, to the point that Bruce was pretty sure he wished his dad _was_ dating Hulk instead of boring Dr. Banner. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Pietro replied in an eager tone. "The Hulk is so cool. I mean I knew he was cool before we met him, but he's even cooler now that we have. I still can't get over how he leapt over a whole tall building. I wish I could smash the way he does. That would be awesome. And, and, he called me Fast Boy! Like a superhero name!" Sometimes when Pietro got super excited, his speech sped up. Bruce knew if he didn't have his bracelets on because of school, he'd probably not have understood a word of that.

"That's a stupid superhero name," Wanda said and crossed her arms petulantly. Bruce narrowed his eyes at her reaction. "A cool _nickname_ maybe," she conceded, "but it doesn't make sense as a superhero name. And he called me Strong Girl and got excited when I got dad to buy him cookies so you're not the _only_ one who got to hang out with him." Bruce's eyebrows shot upward when he realized she was acting jealous.

"I never said I was," Pietro said, equally as confused as Bruce had previously been. "But _you_ didn't paint Hulk."

"So?" Wanda unfolded her arms and scowled at her brother. "Why does that matter?"

Bruce shook his head. "Who did you paint, Wanda?" he asked, hoping to diffuse the situation.

She looked at him like a deer in headlights. "Um… I… I painted JARVIS."

Bruce blinked. There were a number of people that had come to mind for her to have painted. Her dad, her dad as Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, maybe even Captain America since he'd finally moved in the day before. He could even imagine her painting a fictional character she was fond of, Hermione Granger perhaps. But JARVIS would never have crossed his mind. How had she even painted him? Abstractly?

"JARVIS?" Pietro seemed equally confused. "I thought you—" He stopped short and Bruce saw Wanda's death glare from his side eye and trampled down a small laugh, not wanting to encourage their bickering.

"So," Bruce intervened, "your dad was thinking maybe we could meet for dinner after his meeting. What are your thoughts?"

"Yes!" Pietro said without hesitating. "Can we go to McDonald's?"

Bruce tried not to grimace outwardly. "Well, I think your dad had his heart set on shawarma since he's a sentimentalist," he teased the man who wasn't there to defend himself. Happy seemed to find it funny and laughed.

"What's shawarma?" Pietro asked, turning his nose up a little at the word.

"Fancy meat," Bruce answered with a laugh. "You see your dad kind of wants to go to this little restaurant that the team went to after that big battle earlier this year. After we, uh, I guess saved the day," he didn't know if he liked that terminology, "your dad dragged everyone to this place for a victory meal."

"He wants to take us there because it's special?" Wanda guessed.

"Yeah, that's it," Bruce confirmed. "It's kind of a special place for him… and me too," he admitted. "He thought maybe it would be a nice place to celebrate," he finished in a tentative tone.

"Celebrate?" the twins asked in unison.

"Celebrate what?" Pietro asked.

"Maybe that they're dating finally?" Wanda suggested.

Bruce smiled thinly. "Maybe. Maybe not. It's a surprise." The twins looked at each other with considering looks. "But, you know," Bruce continued, and they looked back at him, "it'll be about another hour before your dad's done with the meeting and able to meet us. So I was thinking we could do something in the meantime if you want."

"Oh! Can we go look at Halloween costumes?" Pietro asked immediately. Something told Bruce he'd been wanting to do that for a little while as fast as he came up with the idea.

"I want to go to that bookstore we passed when we went to the toy store," Wanda said.

"That's boring, Wanda. Why do you always want to do boring things?"

"Why do you always want to do annoying things?"

"You don't want a Halloween costume?"

"Of course I do, but we can't go shopping for costumes without papa."

During this whole exchange Bruce had pulled out his phone and had searched the location of the bookstore they'd passed. Then he searched for a nearby costume shop, since they were popped up all over the city this time of year.

"Hmm," he said with deliberate emphasis so that they stopped arguing and looked at him. "Looks like there's a costume shop a block away from the bookstore." He looked at them both to see their eager expressions. "I don't think Tony would mind if we window shopped at the costume store for a few minutes so you can get some ideas. Then we…" He paused realizing he was, as always, implicating himself and, dating or not, he wasn't sure if it was good for him to always do so. "Uh, you both and him can go back out again later to a bigger store," he suggested, since Tony would certainly take them to the best Halloween shop in the whole of Manhattan if he had his way.

"You'll come too right?" Bruce was a little surprised that it was Pietro that had asked that question in an earnest tone.

"If you want me to," Bruce answered, feeling a swell of happiness that they'd both want him to and not just Wanda.

"Of course!" Pietro said and looked like it was an insult that he had thought otherwise. A glance at Wanda told him she felt the same. Then he looked down at his lap and said in an unsure tone, "I know grownups sometimes only date a few times and then breakup."

"Pietro, don't do this now," Wanda protested.

"It's true," Pietro said bitterly. "It's not like in the movies, Wanda. Grownups don't stay together. Sometimes grownups leave."

"Pietro, stop," Wanda begged. Bruce was immediately reminded of their similar conversation on the jet. Pietro was afraid of being abandoned and seemed inclined to discuss morbid truths openly even if it was clear that Wanda was so afraid of that possibility that she couldn't even stand to think about it. He was sure Pietro didn't even realize that he was triggering his sister any more than Wanda realized that Pietro confronting reality was his way of coping. "They aren't going to leave us," she said defiantly, not getting as angry as she had before.

Bruce felt the _they_ like a blow. Somehow they'd accepted him as a natural part of their new life with Tony and that was definitely a heavy weight to bear because he didn't want to ever hurt them. He couldn't help but frown just a touch, knowing how cruel life could be and how hard it was for that kind of statement to be matter-of-fact; maybe he was a little like Pietro in that regards. But he also knew that Tony wasn't going to leave them without a fight and, even if it was a worry so deeply ingrained he couldn't quite escape it, Bruce also knew that he didn't want to leave without a fight either. Not now that he was in this deep.

"Hey, so bookstore or Halloween shop first?" he asked, hoping to take their minds off of those thoughts, and maybe his own mind too.

Pietro looked at his sister and smiled crookedly. "Bookstore," he answered.

***

"Tony, did you even hear any of this?"

"Hmm?" Tony shook his head to clear it and looked at Pepper in the chair adjacent to him. He then looked around the room to see that the others were all standing up and around, and some even seemed to have left. "Is the meeting over?"

"I guess that answers my question," Pepper said with a small sigh as she began gathering her own things to leave.

"Sorry, Pep," he apologized. "My, uh, head is just in a strange place right now."

She raised her brows in an incredulous fashion though not bothering to look at him. "Tony, your head is always in a strange place. Honestly, I don't know how Bruce puts up with you."

Tony furrowed his brow. "You've put up with me for years."

"You pay me to put up with you," she said evenly. "Even when we were dating I was still getting a decent paycheck."

"Okay, well, Bruce is technically getting a paycheck now too," he pointed out.

Pepper snorted. "True, but he's not making near as much as I am and I never had to deal with having you joined to my hip. Not _even_ when we were dating." Pepper looked up at him then with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "So, are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Tony asked smoothly, but then he smiled before he could check it and she gave a satisfied _mmhmm_.

"Tony you came into this meeting _smiling_ ," she said. "You never do that. And the whole time you were distracted you were still smiling. Sometimes lewdly," she added. "I think you gave Jones the wrong idea." Tony's smile turned into a grimace. "So are you going to tell me? Because there's a reason why you're glowing and my money is on it having something to do with Dr. Banner."

Tony smiled again and ducked his head. "It's… Yeah. It's something to do with Bruce." He looked up to see her lips quirked knowingly. "But not just Bruce. Something else I wasn't expecting. And… I just feel…" He could hear Bruce's words echoing in his head. "I feel like I'm in a good place and it's a really nice change."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that," Pepper said in an earnest tone, standing to her feet. Tony followed. He needed to change and head out to meet Bruce and the twins. "So… you and Bruce? Are you…?" Pepper asked as they left the conference room.

"Is it normal to tell someone you're in love with them, you know and actually mean it as more than just a line, before you have sex with them the first time?" he answered by way of asking.

Pepper pulled up short beside him and he turned to see her flabbergasted expression. "You… I thought maybe you finally told him you're interested or asked him on a date and he said yes," she said, blinking a few times. "You told him you're in love with him?"

"It's the truth," Tony said with a shrug. "I don't know how or why, but he's it. He just is, Pepper. So I told him."

Pepper gave him a scrutinizing look, but then nodded. "I believe you," she said as they started walking again. "And I guess he did too if it got you into his pants," she said crassly, chuckling a little.

"You know I suddenly feel like I shouldn't be talking about this without Bruce's approval," Tony said thoughtfully.

"Wow, you do love him," Pepper teased as they reached the elevators. "And he feels the same, Tony?" she asked, tone tinged with concern.

"Well," Tony shrugged, "he didn't use the magical L word or anything." She furrowed her brow slightly. "But it was implied more than once. So I'm pretty sure he does, but I won't pressure him to prove it. Hell, the fact that he hasn't bolted for the hills given my little bomb drop or shied away from telling the kids we're dating is good enough for me."

"Well, still be careful," Pepper warned as if it was her solemn duty to do so. "Both of you. This clearly hasn't been the most conventional romance and you still have your kids to think about."

"I know, I know."

"So, you said it's not just Bruce. Something else?" Pepper asked shrewdly.

"Not at liberty to say at the moment," Tony deflected with a smile before stepping onto the private elevator and leaving her looking a little disappointed.

Tony made his way to his apartment, wishing he had Pietro's superhuman speed. He could change his clothes in no time flat – although he still managed it rather quickly, he wouldn't need a car since he'd know how to get to the shawarma place with his eyes closed, and he could have been with the three most important people in his life twenty minutes sooner. But he didn't have Pietro's speed so it wasn't until twenty minutes later that he walked into the restaurant, eyes scanning the recently expanded – thanks to a charitable sponsor – mom-and-pop joint until they settled on the three most important people in his life.

He smiled and thrummed with restless energy as he made his way over to the far corner booth they'd selected. There were two school books open on the table and a few worksheets as Bruce seemed to be helping them with their homework. Tony didn't know what it said about him that he was torn between either hugging a pillow it was so damn adorably domestic and _right_ or excusing himself to the bathroom before it could get embarrassing – though, to be fair, his sex drive was actually on overdrive after the night before, and that morning after the kids had gone to school.

Bruce looked up at him then with a smile and all other thoughts flew out the window. "Hey, look who's here finally," he said.

"Hi, papa!" Wanda said with a broad smile and looked up at him. Then she slid out of the booth where she'd been sitting next to Bruce. "You have to sit next to Bruce," she instructed, pushing him towards the seat and then pushing in next to Pietro, who complained at having to scoot over.

Tony chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I have to, huh?" he asked as he sat down next to the physicist.

"Yes," she said matter-of-factly. She smiled confidently enough, but he spied her quick glance toward another table. When she looked down at her worksheet he spared a glance in the same direction.

He nudged Bruce and he followed his line of vision. "Oh," he said softly when he saw the table with what looked like two parents on one side, two kids on the other and a third in a high chair at the end. It was clearly a monkey-see, monkey do thing. A glance around the shop showed Tony two other families in similar positions, adults on one side and kids on the other. He'd honestly never given it a thought before. "Well," he added discreetly in Tony's ear, "I hope at least she doesn't get any ideas about the baby."

Tony smirked and whispered back, "What? You don't want any little Iron Hulk babies running around?"

Bruce laughed suddenly at his comment and it seemed he couldn't stop. Tony couldn't help but laugh too at Bruce's reaction and he noticed the twins were looking at him strangely as were a few nearby patrons. Bruce buried his face into Tony's shoulder, trying to stifle it.

"Are you guys going to be weird the whole time?" Pietro asked with a scrunch of his face.

"What's wrong with it?" Wanda asked. "They're happy," she said with a shrug.

"I guess so." He shrugged back.

Tony stopped chuckling and moved his mouth back to Bruce's ear. "You know, you're really irresistible like this. You keep laughing and it's gonna be really hard for me not to dive under this table and blow you." Bruce's laughter turned into a surprised choke. Tony pulled back with a devious smirk, relishing in the way Bruce's eyes dilated and he momentarily froze. Then those eyes glared at him, no doubt for the inappropriateness of that thought with children present. "It worked," he said, still smirking, as justification.

"Not buying that was the purpose," Bruce said, taking a few deep breaths and reaching for his drink.

"Oh, papa, I almost forgot," Wanda started excitedly and pulled her backpack into her lap. Then she pulled out a book to show to him. "Bruce took us to the bookstore."

"And a Halloween costume store!" Pietro chimed in, Wanda rolling her eyes slightly at the interruption.

"And he got me this!" She shoved the book toward him eagerly.

Tony glanced at the title. "Oh, _The Once and Future King_ ," he said with a nod. "That's a good one. Good choice," he said, turning his head to look at Bruce.

"I figured since she loves fantasy so much," he said with a humble shrug. "It was that or _The Hobbit_ , but I actually have a copy of _The Hobbit_ if she wants to borrow it first."

"Sounds like you had a fun little afternoon without me," Tony said as Wanda put the book away and then her school things as well.

"You're not mad are you?" Pietro asked. "That we went to the costume store?"

"A little jealous, maybe," he admitted, "but not mad. The opposite of mad, actually."

"Happy?" Pietro queried.

"Yeah, totally," he replied breezily. "I like that you two are having fun spending time with Bruce." He gave Bruce a meaningful look and the other man ducked his head. "I like that you two have been having a good time in general since moving in. You know that was always important to me. That you two are happy and comfortable." He bit the corner of his bottom lip, waiting for them to respond in any way.

"I'm glad we moved into the tower after all," Pietro offered first as he zipped up his backpack and shoved it under the table. "It's great. And Bruce is great too. He's cool and he cooks better than you."

"They've noticed," Tony mumbled with a soft bark of laughter.

"And I'm glad you're not dating somebody mean," Pietro continued as if that was a very important point to make. "He's nice."

"And he cares about us like you do," Wanda added.

"I do," Bruce said, his voice a little rough with emotion.

"So," Tony said after a moment of silence, taking in a deep breath to steel his nerves, "what are your thoughts on this becoming a permanent deal?" Beside him Bruce placed a comforting hand on his knee as they waited for their answer.

"Permanent?" Wanda looked back and forth between them like she wanted to read their minds. She scrunched her face. "Permanent how?"

"Well, I got a call from SHIELD this afternoon," Tony explained slowly. "They said they can fix it so that I can have full custody. If that's what you both want. The media will find out you're my kids, but not that you're superhuman. SHIELD will have to fabricate a story for you and even then I can't promise it won't be a little tough being Tony Stark's kids. I… I want you two to think about it. The offer is good whenever you decide to take it. If you want."

Wanda bit her lip and looked at Pietro. She then looked back and forth between him and Bruce. Her eyes finally landed on Tony alone.

"Then, we'll finally be a real family?" she asked. "They won't take us away?"

"Fury seems to know how to fix it for us so they don't," Tony said warily. "And if it means I can keep you, I'm willing to trust him." Bruce squeezed his knee again and Tony reached down one hand to entwine it with that hand. "But, Wanda, I want to make something perfectly clear. We already are a real family. Nothing on this planet will stop me from doing what I can to look out for you." He looked back and forth between them. "Nothing can stop me from loving you. Even if you decide you don't want this or if you decide you need some more time to be ready, you'll always have me in your corner if you need me. I promise."

*

"I trusted you!" Tony shouted in anguish as he struggled against the tight grips Clint and Steve had on his arms and legs. If he could just call his suit to him somehow. If he didn't need an armor case or his bracelets or if he had a way to send all of his suits to attack without him, maybe he could save his children. But he couldn't. He could only stay there on his knees, struggling, and forced to let Fury do whatever he wished. "I trusted you, you bastard!" he growled.

"That was your mistake," Natasha answered for the smug man beside her. "You should have known better than to trust him. He was just using you, Tony. We needed you to make them stronger. Now they are. Did you really think we'd let you keep them? As special as they are?"

"You fell for it, Stark," Fury spoke coldly. "Hook, line and sinker."

"Just let them go!" Tony begged, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the two agents that held his kids and the glass cell just beyond them where Bruce lay unconscious. "Please. I'll do anything. Anything you want, just don't—" His voice cracked and he hung his head.

"We'll do what we damn well please with them," Fury replied.

"I won't let you, Fury! I won't let you!" He struggled again. "You think you've won? Huh!? I'll do anything it takes to protect them."

"That's nice, Stark," Fury said, unconcerned. "But it might be a little bit hard for you to do that where you're going."

Tony heard the cock of a gun and then felt it pressed into his head. He swallowed hard. He needed a suit. He needed to protect his children. He couldn't let them keep Bruce.

"Papa!" He wrenched his eyes shut at the sound of his children's pained cries, both knowing what was about to happen. "Papa!"

He furrowed his brow then. It sounded like only Pietro calling for him. "Papa!" Tony sat up with a start, gasping for breath. Cold sweat rolled down his neck and he looked around in the darkness. He glanced down to see Bruce in the midst of a fitful sleep as well. He was about to wake him up when he heard Pietro again. "Papa!"

Tony quickly pushed back the quilt and hurried to the door. He opened it to see Pietro standing there. Before he had a chance to ask what was wrong, Pietro grabbed his hand and the world flew by in a blur so that he suddenly was standing in the twins' room feeling disoriented.

"You… need to… warn me," he said, trying to regain his equilibrium.

"It's Wanda," Pietro said. "She's having a nightmare. It's bad," he told him with a worried look. Tony looked past him to see Wanda levitating in her bed, hands glowing red. While Tony had excepted nightmares were inevitable, he hadn't counted on this. "She… I think she's dreaming about our mom," he said.

"What makes you so sure?" Tony asked as he moved towards the bed.

"Because my dream started turning into my worst nightmare, but I also saw glimpses of hers."

Tony was still a little tired and shaken from his own nightmare on top of this so he wasn't quite following. "How's that?"

"When Wanda loses control of her powers it can cause others to have nightmares. They started making her wear her bracelets to bed at the home because of it," he explained. "I sometimes see what she's dreaming about like it's my dream because our minds are connected. I can't stop it from happening. You have to wake her up before it gets worse," he said in a fearful tone.

Tony didn't waste any more time in trying to do just that. "Come on, Wanda. Wanda, this is papa. Wake up, sweetheart. You're dreaming." He had no clue if he was doing it right. "Did you say it causes others to have nightmares?" That point suddenly struck him. He looked at Pietro and he nodded.

"She doesn't mean to," Pietro continued, "but the doctor they brought into the home after it first happened said he thinks her powers enter other people's minds and feeds on their worst fears."

"And then it probably intensifies her nightmare." Tony guessed easily, returning his focus to Wanda. "It's papa," he continued to sooth. "You have to wake up for me."

"The first time it happened we didn't know and it got so bad that she… she was convinced it was real and she… she almost hurt somebody."

Tony choked on his emotions, but leaned down on his knees to be closer to her. "Baby, you've got to wake up," he cooed as he reached for the crown of her head gently. "It's not real. You're safe. Papa's here."

Wanda's eyes startled open and she gasped before falling harshly to the bed. "Mama!" she screamed and scrambled up in terror.

"Wanda, hey, Wanda," Tony tried to calm her down. She looked at him like she didn't know him for a second. "Papa?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, it's me. You were having a nightmare."

She breathed in and out deeply, trembling as she held his gaze for a long moment. It was like she was studying him to make sure he was real and that this was in fact reality, not her nightmare world. Then she gasped, "Bruce!"

"Bruce?" Tony furrowed his brow, but then his eyes widened as he remembered he'd been in a fitful rest as well.

"He… I felt him," she said in a shaky voice. "I felt him in my dream."

"Shit," he cursed as realization dawned on him. "Your minds are connected now aren't they? He—"

Tony was interrupted by an all too familiar roar from down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I kind of want I Accidentally Married Tony Stark to be a TLC program tbh. Or fic about Bruce accidentally marrying Tony Stark or a weird reality show about them and he's just like WTF?  
> 2\. _The Once and Future King_ was selected as a shout out to Wanda's canonical father.  
>  3\. "Maybe if Tony and Bruce had gotten together sooner, he'd have gotten Fury's shady cooperation in getting him (shady) custody of his kids sooner. Ah the power of love. And sex." - text from my cousin (btw all of her commentary is posted here w/ permission ofc; probably should have led with that). but tbh I was just trying to get through this fic at this point so.  
> 4\. Wanda having a nightmare was legit the second plot point I brainstormed for this fic. So I feel a little good finally getting this part uploaded at last.  
> 5\. Me writing: oh they're in a good place finally happy happy happy. Also me writing: Never mind. Time to suffer some more.  
> 6\. Probably other points I could make, should make but my brain is fried at the moment and I'm posting during work lol.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you missed my edit to the chapter notes on the last chapter: In light of recent gun violence and tragedy, please note that the next two chapters are a little bit heavier and contains incidents that involves point-blank gun use with intent to kill (while in front of a child). There is also some other comic book violence, discussion of trauma the characters have experienced, etc. Please take care of yourself! If you have to stop reading and come back to this story later, I understand and I'm sorry about the timing. I wish comics weren't so violent - but I guess that's a hypocritical and moot point as I'm contributing to violent imagery by utilizing it for story building purposes.

Bruce wandered down the dark corridor searching for something or someone he couldn't quite put a name to. He only knew with every step his trepidation grew. The air around him was thick and the walls felt like they might close in on him before he ever reached his destination.

Suddenly there was a violent scream that made his blood go cold. His heart picked up its pace and he was frozen to the ground. He wanted to turn and go back, but each new bead of perspiration on his skin burned with desperation. He had to keep going.

"Hello?" His voice trembled and echoed eerily. He probably shouldn't talk should he be in danger, but he felt the need to call out to someone. "Is someone there? Can I help?"

He was greeted by only a thickening of his fear and a sudden stab of white light. He threw his arms up to shield his eyes, but continued moving into it. He was struck by the thought that maybe this was the light everyone saw before they died and maybe he should be concerned or not go into it. But his urge to keep going was too strong and before he could even give it a second thought he suddenly came out on the other side to see a brightly lit, but otherwise horribly sketchy laboratory complete with drab, stone walls that looked dated and covered with unsanitary grime. It was cold or maybe that was his blood gone chill again.

Bruce looked around at the unnerving room. There was water damage to the ceiling of one corner. There were several cabinets. There was an examination table and a host of other standard lab equipment littered here and there. But otherwise he was the only one in the too-bright room. He was alone, but that didn't stop him from feeling a sense of dread, like he was alone and not alone. Suddenly the room flickered out and he was in his own childhood home. His mother's familiar cries of anguish between each audible blow against her from his father's hand from where Brian was beating her in the other room filled his ears. Bruce covered them and shook his head violently.

"No! Stop!" He blinked several times and let his hands fall. His voice had mingled with that of a child's identical plea. The voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't his own young voice. It was a girl's.

His room had also flickered out at the same time so that he was standing in the laboratory again. One of the bright lights flickered and he looked up to see a hanging lamp near a door shaking of its own accord. Bruce cautiously approached that door, his heart rate climbing with every step. He stepped through it and felt his heart nearly stop altogether.

In the middle of another large room stood Wanda, only she looked smaller, younger, completely helpless. She was being restrained by a HYDRA agent while she struggled against him with faintly glowing hands. Bruce then startled at the sound of fierce banging in an adjacent room.

"Pietro," he gasped, knowing somehow that it had to be him. He was trying to get out. He was trying to get out to rescue his sister and—

Bruce's heart filled with sudden dread and clarity. His eyes followed Wanda's frenzied gaze as he came further into the room and saw a woman being held against her will by another agent. A man with a monocle circled her like a shark contemplating its next move and that next move was painfully clear.

"Don't!" Bruce called out, but while the room flickered in and out, sharp images of his own childhood bleeding in and out between, the man paid no notice of him. Bruce could only stand there, breathing in and out deeply as his heart rate spiked further and his face began to pour sweat.

"I have kept you around Agent Maximoff because you are our brightest mind and to keep these little brats in line," 'monocle' said in heavily accented English as he stopped circling and looked at her with a disappointed shake of his head. "But clearly your bright mind has gone soft. You have jeopardized our project one too many times to tolerate any longer." He took a few steps backwards. "And for what? Do you truly believe these children love you? That they're yours by any virtue other than your DNA? _You_ didn't even carry them."

"They're still my children," Maximoff spat back. "And I'm done letting you hurt them, Strucker."

"Ah, but you hurt them too," Strucker replied condescendingly. "Didn't you? And now you have deluded yourself into thinking they can forgive you for your crimes against them? Deluded them into thinking you're not a monster after all? Do you think you are a hero, Agent Maximoff?"

"I am no hero," she said defiantly. "But I am a sword."

"A sword with a blunt blade," Strucker said in a bored tone and then pulled out a gun.

"No!!" Bruce screamed at the same time Wanda did. He tried to move, to get in there and save her somehow, but he couldn't. Wanda was fighting harder against her restraint and twitching her fingers in an effort to stop the looming tragedy.

"I am just a sword, Strucker," Maximoff repeated. "But a shield will come."

"Someday, Wanda," Strucker said coldly, ignoring the elder Maximoff and not even looking at the younger as he cocked the gun in the direction of her mother, "you will be strong enough to kill me. I look forward to that day. Unfortunately for you when that day comes it will be too late to save her."

A shot rang out and it hit Marya Maximoff with deadly precision in her chest. There was a violent bang against the wall of the adjacent room and a violent scream from Wanda as she wrenched away from her captor at last and ran towards her mother. She was pushed back by Strucker only for her to respond with another anguished scream and a quick motion of her hands that sent a shock wave around the room, knocking everyone down including Bruce.

As Bruce hit the ground there was more screaming in his ears, only now it wasn't Wanda's any longer. He rolled over and quickly scrabbled onto his hands and knees to see his mother struggling against his murderous father.

"No!" Bruce cried out. " _I won't let you!_ " he growled. He pushed up off the ground and lunged for Brian, a bestial roar in the air all around as his vision swam with green, but before he could reach his mark everything went black.

*

Bruce huddled in the love seat in Tony's living room. He pulled the blanket Tony had given him closer, not really for the cold but for the comfort, and hazarded a glance at the other man. He was sat in another chair, giving him the space he'd asked for. He didn't seem thrilled about it though. Bruce wasn't particularly thrilled with the arrangement either. He'd rather have Tony's direct comfort, but he was still too shaken to let anyone near him.

Tony sighed, clearly not thrilled about the prolonged silence either. "Bruce, he didn't hurt anyone. He didn't even break anything, but the bed."

"The bed _you_ could have been in," Bruce huffed out bitterly.

"True," Tony conceded. "But I wasn't. And all it took for the Big Guy to calm down was to see Wanda and know she was okay."

Bruce shook his head, trying to keep himself from saying anything that he shouldn't. "All that you're saying is I got _lucky_ this time."

"Bruce," Tony said his name beseechingly, "nothing happened. It was just a small hiccup. Wanda already promised to wear her bracelets to bed again. She's very upset about this. She blames herself."

"Are you trying to manipulate me?" Bruce glared at him. "Are you actually using Wanda to try and guilt trip me right now?"

"No!" Tony said angrily. "Fuck, no…" He let out a sharp breath as if exhaling his anger and ran a hand through his hair. "That's not what I'm trying to do, Bruce. I'm just trying to tell you it'll be okay. And that we can get through this together."

Bruce sighed and ran a hand through his own hair before looking down. "I still want that, Tony," he admitted. "I do, honest. But what did or didn't happen with Hulk aside, you…" He looked at Tony sadly. "You didn't tell me."

"Didn't tell you?" Tony echoed in a confused tone.

"Did you know?" Bruce asked, just to be certain even if he already fairly was. "Did you know their mother was killed?" Tony's eyes widened and then they closed in obvious guilt. "While Wanda watched?" He nodded once. Bruce sucked in a harsh breath and his face twisted in a fresh wave of emotion.

"It was in that full file that Fury gave me."

"You were just following orders," Bruce said bitterly, even if the rational part of him knew it was probably for the best. "I get it. You didn't want to risk triggering an incident."

"What?" Tony looked at him sharply. "That's not even remotely… Okay, yes, at first I was afraid it would be too much for you. I didn't want to burden you with that. But I was going to tell you once I figure out how."

"Then what happened?" Bruce demanded, emotionally charged. "I'm not the team, Tony. I was trying to be there for you and you didn't tell me. What if I'd said or done something to hurt Wanda unknowingly because of it?"

"I forgot, okay?" Tony stood to his feet, arms coming up. He shook his head in self-derision. "I'm an idiot that forgot. I'm an idiot who can't do this relationship thing right. And I'm an idiot—"

"Stop, Tony," Bruce said, standing up to his feet as well. "This… Tony, look this isn't just about you. I'm not..." He sighed. "I know it seems that way, but I'm not trying to attack you. You're not an idiot. I'm not trying to make you think you are. I just wanted to understand. You can't twist this around so that I feel bad about being upset. Because I _am_ upset, Tony. My feelings are valid and I can't change them." Tony blinked at him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Tony countered. "Don't stand there and own your feelings and then apologize for them in the same breath. Just…" He pinched his nose in frustration. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Yes, you should have," Bruce didn't disagree. "It would have been hard on me, I know that. But I could have been there for you more that way. And it would have been preferable to finding out the way I did. You… God, Tony. We shouldn't even be fighting about our problems," he then said as he was struck by a fresh memory of Wanda's trauma. "Because there is a very hurt little girl upstairs. You didn't see what I saw. You didn't feel the anguish. And I'm _glad_ you didn't. Honestly. Because you need to be strong for her, Tony. In the grand scheme of things, _I_ don't matter." He almost regretted the words the moment they left his lips at the way Tony's face practically broke.

"How can you stand there and say that?" Tony asked, tone just as broken. "Bruce, get this through your head. You. Fucking. _Matter_. You matter to me. And you sure as hell matter to Wanda and Pietro. You're right that we shouldn't be fighting right now when Wanda needs us. But that's _us,_ Bruce. _Us_. I'm sorry I didn't give you any warning of what she's gone through. But you told me you weren't going anywhere, so please don't leave."

Bruce felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He stared dumbly at Tony's desperate expression. He wasn't sure how this had turned into that kind of argument, wasn't even sure if that's the impression he'd been giving off since his head was still muddled with everything he'd felt.

"I—" He squeaked in a false start. "I don't want to leave, Tony," he finally said, and he was sure he still meant it. "I'm just… very confused right now," he said as honest as he could manage. "I'm still upset from the nightmare and worried about Wanda and, yeah, I'm still frustrated with you." He looked sharply at Tony. "But that doesn't mean I'm just going to… to run out. Not without giving it a little more rational thought. Though Hulk would probably just run right back the way he's been acting," he mumbled. Then he sighed and shook his head. "I just… I need some air. I'm going to take a walk." He started to move past Tony, but then sighed again and stopped. "I promise I'll be back," he said, placing a tentative hand on Tony's cheek to reassure him. Tony clearly looked relieved and covered Bruce's hand with his own. "And when I do, I suggest we focus on doing something for Wanda. Because you're right. She needs us. I don't want her to end up like me," he finished sadly.

"I do," Tony said with a tentative smile. "But I know what you mean," he added with a nod. Bruce let his hand fall and made for the door. "I love you, Bruce," Tony said as he went and Bruce felt his heart clench.

He still loved Tony too. This didn’t change that. But he wasn't going to say it for the first time while he was still working through his other emotions, still reminding _himself_ that he loved Tony enough, loved the kids enough, to fight to hold onto them rather than run at the first sign of turbulence. Turbulence was a part of life and he'd spent so much time running away from that turbulence he needed some time to get his head on straight so he could figure out how to stick around for once like he'd promised.

***

"I dreamed I killed Coulson," Clint said with a straight face. "I wasn’t even under Loki's influence. It was all me."

Tony had gone to one of the common lounge in need of a stiff drink only to find the other Avengers and Pepper still there. They'd all had horrible nightmares that had rattled them too, but needless to say Tony's first priority had been Bruce. The twins were there too, curled up asleep on a pillow nest. Now they all sat around with the alcohol that Tony had proffered immediately and discussing those nightmares for some kind of relief or something; Tony wasn't sure, but he didn't stop them.

Natasha muttered in Russian and took a drink. "I dreamed about my first kill," she then said evenly. Clint cursed and looked ready to shatter his glass. "Not the first one Red Room forced me to make. No, the first one I wanted to make. The first one I felt no remorse over." They were all quiet for a moment and Tony shivered, thinking about how that could have been Wanda or Pietro if HYDRA had its way. 

"I dreamed my pal Bucky was still alive," Steve said next. They all looked at him strangely. He seemed to understand why they did and looked down at his glass. "We found him on the ice like me. Somehow he'd survived. But it changed him. He wasn't my Bucky." He furrowed his brow and shook his head. Pepper placed a hand on his. 

"I dreamed…" Pepper bit her lip, going next when it was clear Steve wouldn't or couldn't continue. "It's strange, but I dreamed Tony never came back from Afghanistan." Tony paled and met her gaze. "Stane took over the company and it just kept getting worse and worse. It was… very post-apocalyptic."

"Maybe you should be worried she's still dreaming about Tony, Steve," Clint offered, maybe attempting to lighten the sober mood a little.

"It's fine," Steve said and squeezed the hand atop his. "It makes sense. Who knows where we'd be now if Tony hadn't been around when the Chituari attacked."

"But don't let it go to your head," Natasha warned him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tony answered with a soft snort in spite of everything.

That's when he realized they were all looking at him. Expectantly. He couldn't help but think of Bruce and of how he was asking Bruce to go against his instinct and not run. So maybe he should even that score a little by going against his instinct to close himself off in other ways. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes fixed on his sleeping kids.

"Fury called me today," he finally said. "He said the incident in DC proved what he needed to see. Still not sure how that makes sense, but he said he has ways of making sure I get legal custody of my kids without the red tape making it difficult for me. I'll just have to handle the press side of things after the fact when they find out I've been given legal custody of my kids, or that I have kids at all. It all seems a little sketchy," he admitted with a shake of his head. "But I don't care at this point." He looked up finally and met their gazes. "I just want them if they want me and if he can make that happen I'm willing to trust him."

"He does what he can to reunite kids in the home with their parents all the time, Tony," Clint said when he paused to prepare himself for the next part.

"But it's also reasonable why that would be a big leap of faith for you," Steve said in a knowing tone. "I can't say I didn't have a few lingering doubts even when I confronted him about it this morning."

Tony furrowed his brow. "You what?"

"I confronted him," Steve said with a shrug. "I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but told him I wouldn't be okay if he did anything further to keep those kids from you."

"I confronted him too," Natasha said and both he and Steve looked at her in surprise. "I told him that if they were held by HYDRA, hurt by them, then we would be just like them if we tried to keep them away from someone who loves them and makes them feel… human again," she said it with conviction that sent a chill through Tony.

"I confronted him again too," Clint stated next. "I'm the only other Avenger in this room that knows the full of what happened to those kids. I also was given Coulson's handler notes," he said, his even voice wavering slightly. "He recommended on three occasions that you be told the truth. He believed you had a right to know. He also believed the only thing that would help these kids is having a family, even if not with you." Clint sighed. "I told Fury I seconded his conclusions."

Tony felt his head spin. He looked at his kids again and then at his teammates. His teammates that in his nightmare had betrayed him. Yet, here they were telling him they'd gone to the mattresses for him. A part of him wanted to hold onto suspicion. Why had they all suddenly gone to Fury to make sure he kept his kids? But the other part trusted them in spite of everything and so he felt guilty for what he was about to tell them.

"The thing is," he started slowly, considering the best way to put it, "in my dream I was wrong to trust Fury. I found out he was just manipulating me. He was using me to make them better soldiers for SHIELD. When I served my purpose, he…" He shook his head. "He'd captured my kids, captured Bruce and he was going to kill me." He took a deep breath. "The worst part was, you all helped him do it."

His words lingered in the air. He couldn't meet their gazes. He felt a shiver down his spine as he recalled the vivid dream.

"Fury _is_ a manipulative man," Natasha was the first to speak. "You might be right to always have a contingency plan where he's concerned. Especially now that you have kids… and Bruce," she added with a small quirk of her lips.

"Although killing you himself wouldn't be his style," Clint said in a considering tone, as if it was at all helpful.

"No," Natasha agreed with a snort.

"Actually, I think Steve was holding the gun," Tony admitted and glanced at the super soldier to see him frown deeply.

"Guns aren't my style," Steve said and even his tone was like an audible frown.

"The thing is, Stark," Natasha spoke again, "you don't have to make this harder on yourself by picking a fight with us. Your fears are unfounded and something tells me you know that or else you wouldn't have built this place and invited us in. Trust your instincts. We're on your side."

"They're your team, Tony," Pepper said. "I'll admit I was a little skeptical at first at the thought of _you_ being on a team. But you picked a good one."

Tony felt something uncoil in his gut and he nodded in agreement.

"Now if Thor ever shows up again, you might want to keep an eye on _him_ ," Clint joked and they all laughed gently.

"Papa?"

Tony looked across the room to see that somewhere in the past few moments the twins must have woken up, or been woken up, because they were sat up and looking at him sleepily. Tony glanced at his watch and realized it was almost six so it was likely a combination of the noise and their circadian rhythm.

"Hey, sleepyheads," he said, getting up and moving towards them. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," Pietro said before falling back into the pillows and closing his eyes.

Tony crouched down and smoothed a few mussed tresses away from Wanda's face. "You okay? Did you have better dreams?" She had her bracelets on, but that didn't mean she couldn’t still have nightmares.

She nodded. "We went to Coney Island," she said.

"They took us there once at the home," Pietro said, muffled slightly by a pillow.

"Sounds swell," Steve offered from where the other still sat.

"And you asked Bruce to marry you," Wanda added as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"At Coney Island?" Natasha asked with a small lilt. "Classy, Stark."

"Eh," he shrugged, "Bruce would probably appreciate something low key like that."

"He might have a point," Clint said.

"Is Bruce awake yet?" Wanda then asked with a timid expression. "I want to tell him I'm sorry. He lost his mother too and… I'm sorry." Her lip quivered.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's okay." Tony tried to sooth her. "He knows you're sorry. He's not mad at you. He's mad at the horrible people that did that to you and your mother." She bit her lip and nodded. "He went out for a walk a little bit ago," he told her then, "but he'll probably be back soon if he isn't already in his apartment." He stood again, looking at his watch. "Since you're both awake," Pietro groaned and he chuckled, "how about you two go ahead and go get ready for school. Then we can stop off somewhere for breakfast." Pietro shot up quickly at the mention of food and blew by him and Tony turned around to see the door of the emergency stairwell swing open. He chuckled again. "Crazy kid," he said fondly.

"And Bruce will come too?" Wanda asked behind him and he tried not to tense visibly.

_I hope so_ , he thought. "Uh, don't know," he told her truthfully just the same. He couldn't pressure Bruce to return to normalcy without a little time any more than he'd want to be pressured into it. "He was still a little shaken up when he came back around. That's why he left for a little bit. He might be tired after his walk. Or just need a little more alone time. You understand?" He looked at her and she furrowed her brow. "Of course," he hedged, "he's also usually hungry after an incident so if he hasn't eaten his way between here and Brooklyn by now, he definitely might like to join us for breakfast."

She didn't seem happy with that answer, but she gave a soft nod and left for the elevator. When she was gone he crossed over to the bar. He needed another small drink to take the edge off. He needed to be strong for his kids, like Bruce had said.

"Her mother was…" Steve started, but didn't seem to be able to finish.

"Killed point blank in front of her," Tony answered with gritted teeth as he took his drink and then set the glass down on the bar. He turned and crossed back over to the sitting area. "Their mother was a HYDRA scientist. I don't know if she's the one who collected my sperm or if she's just the unlucky woman who it was given to because of her IQ and theories on how to make Project MIRACLE work. The files don't say. But the files do say that at some point her maternal instincts became too strong. She tried to sabotage the project a few times. Tried to get the twins out of there. Strucker killed her in front of Wanda and then if that wasn't enough his notes on the incident were and I quote 'it's a shame she couldn't have harnessed enough power to stop me.'"

"Not before she was able to get word to someone at SHIELD though," Clint said. Tony looked at him in confusion. "Coulson said in his notes that Wanda told him her mother's last words were 'a shield will come' and that struck him as odd. When he looked into the mission brief for the raid on the base, it said one of our agents received a tip from an unknown source. He concluded that source was Marya Maximoff."

"Tony," Natasha sounded worried and he looked at her, "what did Wanda mean about apologizing to Bruce?"

"Well, he… Instead of having his own nightmare," he attempted to explain in laymen's terms, "his nightmare was Wanda's nightmare. Pietro says sometimes it happens." He didn't need to tell them the specific why at the moment. "She was dreaming about her mother being killed and he saw it in his mind the way hers did."

"Oh my god," Pepper gasped.

"Then are you sure he's coming back?" Natasha looked at him pointedly. "He has a history of running."

Tony felt his temper flare along with his fear, but he trampled it back down again. "He's coming back," he said defiantly. "I trust him. I—"

"Sir," JARVIS interrupted, "the children are no longer on the premises."

Tony felt his world tunnel and he could distinctly hear muddy voices telling him to breathe.

*

Tony felt like his heart was going to beat straight past his reactor and out of his chest as he flew through Manhattan trying hopelessly to spot his kids. "Got anything for me yet, Barton?"

"The signal from their chips is pretty scrambled," he said in reference to the tracking chips SHIELD had apparently injected all the kids with. Tony would have to come up with a way to scramble those chips himself or come up with some kind of override chip just in case somebody tried to misuse it, but… first he had to find his kids. "I don't think they considered Pietro's speed. The tech can't seem to track it that quick. I'll keep trying."

"They're not at Grand Central Station, Tony," Steve came over the comm next. "No kids matching their description have been seen. But they can check the tapes just in case," he said.

"Sir," JARVIS intoned, "there was a unique atmosphere disturbance along 5th Avenue. If it was Pietro, he was heading northeast."

"Better than nothing," Tony decided and took off in that direction. "The home," it then struck him. "He could take 5th and get them to the home."

"I'm already on my way there now, Tony," Natasha said.

"Right behind you—"

"Sir, you have an incoming call from Dr. Banner," JARVIS told him.

"Put him on, put him on, put him on!" Tony said frantically.

A square came up on one corner of the HUD and Tony felt some small comfort in seeing Bruce's face. Then Bruce said, "Don't worry, Tony. I've got them," and moved the phone just enough so that Wanda and Pietro could be seen on screen, sitting beside him on a park bench. Tony decided then and there that a parent could never get used to the feeling of relief that comes after finding out a kid is okay.

"Guys," Tony told the others, "Bruce has got them." He heard their various relieved replies and then cut the commlink. "Where are you?"

"We're in Central Park," he said.

"What were you two thinking!?" Tony then demanded, knowing the kids could hear him.

"We're sorry, papa," Wanda said. "But you said Bruce left. We had to go find him."

"How did you even find him?" Tony asked, but then shook his head. "No, no, that's… Never mind. That's not important right now. I also said he was coming back. That he might already be back."

"He wasn't back," Wanda answered. "I checked. And when I took off my bracelet to ask you if he would join us you were so scared for a moment that he wouldn't. I thought maybe he wasn't coming back. And he _has_ to come back. Even if we have to leave," she said solemnly. "You love him, papa."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Bruce said ruefully. "This is my fault."

"It is not your fault, Bruce," Tony countered. "Not that I'm looking forward to more arguments in the future, but you have a right to go clear your head without our kids recklessly running after you every time." He looked at them both. "I do love him, but I love you two just as much, which is why you can't do stuff like this. If you were worried you should have told me. I'm the adult here. It's my job to recklessly run after him. Or, you know, give him a call. You have to trust us to handle things."

Tony spotted them and swooped down to land just in front of them. He flipped open the face plate and looked at the three of them in fresh relief. He noticed then that Bruce was looking at him a little dumbly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I…" Bruce blinked. He then gave a soft, semi-surprised huff of a laugh. "I, yeah… yeah, I am. I just… You called them ou—"

Bruce's eyes went wide, dilated and green before he slumped over, limp and lifeless. Before Tony could even move forward in panic Pietro and Wanda met the same fate.

"No!" Tony started, but then there was a shock through his suit and he reached over his back and yanked off a miniaturized EMP. He crushed it in his hand and threw it aside.

His attention was solely on the others as he moved over to them. There were two small darts in the twins' neck and an empty needle in Bruce's. He pulled the needle out and looked at it angrily before he looked up and realized there was a group of HYDRA agents surrounding them.

"Mr. Stark," one said, stepping up to him directly. "You will come with us and not make any attempts to resist."  

"You seem very certain of that," Tony said as evenly as he could.

"I am," the agent replied. "Because there are agents poised to kill anyone who attempts to stop us." Tony looked around. It was a good time of day for this sort of thing. The park wasn't as busy, but that didn't mean there weren't any potential casualties. "And if that is not enough incentive for you, well… We may not be able to kill him right away," he said of Bruce before looking at the twins, "but they are a very different story."

"You don't want to kill them," Tony said, shooting up to his feet. And he wondered at the 'right away' about Bruce. 

"No," the agent agreed. "At least," he paused, "not both of them." Tony thought he might be sick at the implication. That HYDRA would consider one of them expendable, that they would cut off a head to further their goal. His stomach was in his throat as he looked down at his kids. He couldn't lose either of them and if one lost the other it would break them. "So as I said, Mr. Stark. You will come with us and not make any attempts to resist."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. More allusions to Wanda's canonical father by giving her similar backstory.  
> 2\. I wasn't quite sure how to play Strucker as a villain in this since, well, he's not really in the movies and I've admittedly always been meh about him in the comics. But since most MCU villains are unhinged to some degree, figured I'd go with that a bit. Also I've used for inspiration the bit from the comics where he was recruited to turn Natasha into a master assassin (albeit thwarted) in his wanting to make Wanda someone strong enough that she could just kill him.  
> 3\. With the fears/worst nightmares, I decided not to use the cues from the movie for Steve and Natasha, but I still wanted Tony's to be somewhat team-centric on top of his fears about Bruce and his kids. Because it's a big deal for him to start connecting with and trusting these people and it's special bond that needs to be protected (like fuck Civil War in all verses forever).  
> 4\. Um insert other relevant notes about this chapter here?


	12. Chapter 12

" _There will no one come to harm you. Naught will ever break your rest. Sleep my darling babe in quiet. Sleep on mother’s gentle breast._ " Bruce fluttered open his eyes, feeling disoriented like after an incident though not quite. He looked to see there was a glass wall several feet away. He wasn't sure where he was or why he heard… singing? " _Sleep serenely, baby, slumber. Lovely baby, gently sleep. Tell me, dear, why are you smiling, smiling sweetly in your sleep?_ " Bruce then registered the feeling of fingers in his hair and twisted his neck to look over his shoulder. It was Wanda. She stopped singing when she realized he was awake.

"That song…" He pushed up and looked around, still confused. "That song was the one…" He shook his head.

"Your mother sang it," Wanda said softly. "I found it in your memories. I thought it might help."

He furrowed his brow, a creeping suspicion beginning to gnaw at him. "Help with what?"

"You were turning into Hulk," Pietro said from his other side and Bruce turned his head quickly to see the boy suddenly standing there. He hadn't seen him before.

Suddenly what Pietro said sunk in. As did the fact that he was in a room with the twins that… had a glass wall. They were in a holding cell somewhere.

"I was turning into the Hulk?" Bruce asked lamely as he scrubbed his face and pushed back against the nearest wall.

"You were asleep," Wanda said, "and when you started to wake up your skin started to turn green."

"And your muscles were getting bigger," Pietro supplied.

"So I started to sing that song," Wanda continued, "and you started to calm down."

"That's…" Bruce wasn't sure what to do with that other than feel relief. "Good. Thank you." He looked around again. "Do you know where we are?"

"HYDRA," Pietro answered that one.

"We think," Wanda added. "I don't know how we got here. We were in the park and when we woke up we were here. And…" she sniveled and started to tremble. Bruce scooted over to her and pulled her into his arms. "Papa isn't here." Bruce's eyes widened when he realized she was right. Tony had been there with them too. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't panic because then that might just lead to the incident they'd just avoided. "Shh, it's okay. I'm sure he's fine." He spotted a rash on her neck as he soothed her. "Darts. They darted us."

"Excellent deduction, Dr. Banner," came a voice from the other room.

"Baron von Strucker!" Wanda cried and buried her face in his chest.

Bruce carefully picked her up into his arms, her clinging tightly and still not bringing her face away from his body, in order to stand and walk closer to the glass. Pietro followed him bravely, but stayed practically glued to his side.

"Glad you could finally join us, doctor. For a little while I'd thought my scientists had misjudged the dose needed to inhibit you."

"Why are you doing this, Strucker?" Bruce decided to try the direct approach. "Haven't you done enough to these kids?"

"Enough?" Strucker made a tsk-ing noise and shook his head. " _I_ was barely getting started when SHIELD interfered. They hadn't even begun to unlock their true potential. Although I see they've begun to make progress again. Who knew little Wanda would learn how to levitate a whole person? Who taught her that, I wonder?" Strucker gave him a calculating look. "Has SHIELD been doing the same thing as HYDRA, after all? Or does it have to do with her finding a motivating factor. A father?"

"Papa!" Wanda cried and turned to look finally with a fiery gaze.

As if in sync with his sister's reaction, Pietro rushed to the glass wall and started pounding furiously at lightning speed. "What did you do to him!? Where is he!?"

Strucker seemed put upon and sighed. "Bang all you want, Pietro. This glass is too strong for _you_ ," he said in a calm jeer. "You never have been as capable as your sister."

Pietro's hands fell suddenly and he seemed to cave in on himself. Bruce reached for him and brought him back over to his side reassuringly.

"That's not true, Pietro," Bruce said, hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're both special."

"Oh yes," Strucker agreed, "I do not deny this is true. Agent Maximoff's theory was a wonderful starting point. But Wanda is…" He looked at Wanda and Bruce took a step back with her, Pietro moving with them, feeling his rage begin to simmer again. " _She_ is the true miracle. The question is why. I'm sure as a scientist you can appreciate the frustration of having an experiment interrupted before you reach a firm conclusion."

"The only miracle is that they survived your monstrosity," Bruce seethed.

"Don't," Wanda said, placing a hand on his cheek. He calmed and looked at her. "He wants to make you angry again." Bruce blanched and looked at the villain on the other side of the glass.

"I see her psychic power has also been developing nicely," Strucker said in a thoughtful tone. "But now that I have her again we will begin to unlock her mysteries. Make her strong. Make her ready."

"No!" Pietro screamed and rushed toward the glass wall again in a protective fashion.

Strucker sighed again and turned to leave. However, he paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder. "You know, I had no idea where SHIELD was keeping them these past three years. I'll have to give my regards to Stark for bringing them out of the shadows."

"Papa!" Wanda cried again, weaseling out of Bruce's hold and rushing toward the wall with glowing hands. The glass began to vibrate and Bruce felt his own anger growing again at her distress.

"Yes, Wanda, keep it up and maybe this time will end differently," Strucker threatened and Bruce, having seen Wanda's memories, put together his meaning with dread and fury.

"Strucker, if you do anything to him you'd better hope you figure out how to kill me!" Bruce growled as the monocled monster left them alone again.

"No, don't let him kill you!" Bruce broke from his slight trance to see Wanda and Pietro both looking at him with worried expressions. "We don't want to lose you either."

Bruce felt his anger dissipate again, so quickly that he dropped to his knees like a marionette. "You won't," Bruce promised, shaking his head. "He can't kill me. And I promise I won't let him hurt you or your father," he said determinedly. "We'll figure this out."

He just needed to make sure he wasn't the one who hurt them. He was no idiot. Strucker had him in the same room with the twins for a reason. Wanda had sensed that he wanted him to get angry. The question was why? The other question was why he felt like something was tearing at his insides and why his head pounded with more than anger.

***

"You've got this," Tony muttered as he gritted his teeth in a grimace and desperately tried to think of a way out of his cell.

His cell with large video feed and audio feed of the cell Bruce, Wanda, and Pietro were in. His cell where he was bound and forced to watch. If he closed his eyes, he received a painful shock from the collar around his neck.

Currently in the other cell Bruce seemed to be fighting off another incident with the twins' help. Both were singing now and, maybe a little recklessly like everyone told him he was, were right next to him as he tried to talk the Hulk down.

Finally, it seemed like he was safe again, or would be for at least another several minutes based on previous intervals. Bruce rolled over on his side and into an almost-fetal position.

"I'll admit," Strucker's chilling voice was suddenly in the room somewhere close behind him, "he is fighting the nanobots we injected him with quite well without his green monkey."

"He's stronger than you, Strucker," Tony spat.

"So it would seem," he agreed. "I underestimated his ability to hold back the beast. Or perhaps I underestimated the beast," he theorized. Tony wasn't about to say anything about Bruce's secret. For all he knew that was part of it. "Perhaps I've found the beast's soft underbelly. He won't hurt the children willingly, will he?"

"If you don't know anything about the beast, I'm sure as hell not going to tell you," Tony said vehemently, earning him another excruciating shock. He knew it was only a matter of time before the voltage did permanent damage to his reactor.

"You don't have to. I've seen enough. It isn't Banner that's holding back the beast. It's the beast that's holding back."

He didn't say it aloud, but Tony had a pretty good hunch that it was more than likely a little bit of both. If there was anything Tony knew now that Bruce and Hulk agreed on it was protecting Pietro and Wanda. "I still don't understand why you're doing this? You want them alive. You want to make them stronger. Why would you want Hulk to attack them?"

"Because Wanda needs the duress," Strucker said easily. "She's not very good at saving others. Her powers don't seem to be very proactive… At least not yet," he explained. "But she _is_ reactionary. In a terrible situation she may not save someone in time, but she will always use her powers after the damage is done." He paused. " _But_ the survival instinct is still strong. You see she will fight against a Hulk if the situation forces her hand if it is to save herself. But she will not kill me if I were to go in there and, let's say, kill her brother."

"Pietro," Tony gasped as it started to add up.

"You understand my purpose now," Strucker smiled coldly. "I have great faith in Wanda's power. If she is met with a savage Hulk, she will find a way to escape him. Whether her brother does in time is no matter. If I cut off his head Wanda shall grow two more to take its place."

Tony scowled even as he felt sick. "So you can create a three headed monster?" he barked. "You've just missed one key point. The Hulk isn't a savage."

"Minor bump in the road," Strucker replied evenly. "I shall just have to find another way to provoke him. And even if I cannot, he will die if he doesn't find a way to destroy those nanobots. They were designed with his... _unique_ physiology in mind." A small part of Tony's mind wondered for a moment how he could even know. The specifics were known only to select people, most of them affiliated with either Bruce or SHIELD. "Whether Dr. Banner's death or her brother's, I'm sure Wanda will be sufficiently broken for my purposes."

"Stop this madness, Strucker!" Tony yelled. He felt helpless at the thought of any of Strucker's twisted scenarios coming to pass. He may be able to talk about sacrificing one superhuman child for the sake of the other, but Tony couldn't lose either and he couldn't lose Bruce. "What do you want? A weapon? I can give you those all day long." He would build them for terrorists to save himself, but this was different. "I'll build them for you if you just let them go. They're just children."

"How noble of you to play the martyr," Strucker said with a shake of his head. "Just like their mother," he said with a sneer. "You've already given me the weapons I want, Mr. Stark. Now all that is left is for history to repeat itself."

***

_I can't hold on much longer._

Bruce felt like the world was spinning and his heart rate was up again, causing him to pour with sweat. He'd lost count of how many times he'd been on the brink of losing himself to Hulk over the last hour or so, if that's how long it had been since he first woke up. He'd maybe lost count of the tally of minutes in his head somewhere in between the near-incidents.

Wanda was trying to sooth him again, but even that was starting to be just a small comfort compared to whatever it was inside of him that was trying to kill him. He knew it was something, could _feel it_ , and a few broken thoughts from Hulk in his mind seemed to confirm it. That the twins were still there at all was his only incentive to keep fighting.

_Banner puny. Need Hulk_. He was far enough gone now that he could hear Hulk more clearly.

_I know_ , he admitted. _But that's what they want, Hulk. It's what Strucker wants and I don't know why._

_Trust Hulk. Hulk smash Bad Man. Hulk save little Tony-kids._

_Trust Banner_ , Bruce argued wearily. _Strucker is smart. It can't be that easy._

_Banner sick._

_Nothing makes us sick remember? Irradiated blood._

_STUPID BANNER! Sick! Need Hulk!_

_Just… just a little bit longer, Hulk. Not yet. We… we can try a little longer._

_Bruce, can... can you hear me?_

_Wanda?_

_Strong Girl?_

_You need Hulk_. Her voice, even in his head, trembled. _If you don't you'll die. You promised he wouldn't kill you. You promised._

Bruce opened his eyes and saw Pietro was holding his sister as she cried. He had tears in his eyes too.

"I know I did."

"Then don't let him."

_I can't take the chance that he wants the Hulk for some reason. He may want Hulk to hurt you._

_He wouldn't hurt us!_ Wanda protested.

_You don't know that! I trust him not to hurt you if he's in his right mind, but Strucker may have a way of changing that._

"You promised! Trust him! Trust you!"

Bruce's eyes went wide and he heard the Hulk clamoring in his head for him to listen to her. But he couldn't. He had to protect them.

"Wanda, you… you can't make him," Pietro said tentatively.

Wanda turned sharply around. "He promised us, Pietro! He has to!"

"I-it…" Pietro suddenly scowled from where Bruce could see him through flickering vision. "No, Wanda," he said firmly. "I'm tired of you bossing me around and treating me like I'm stupid. I'm not stupid. _You're_ the one who's stupid. He's not going to let Hulk out. He's going to die! You can't change—" Suddenly Pietro was hovering in the air, Wanda's hands outstretched, and Bruce scrabbled forward.

"Wanda, don't!" Bruce panicked.

"And… and Papa is probably going to die too!" Pietro continued and closed his eyes tight. He groaned like Wanda was physically hurting him. "Everybody dies, Wanda! You can't stop—" He struggled. "—it." And then she brought him down to the ground. His eyes were closed and his body limp.

"No! Wanda, what… NO!"

"Pietro?" Wanda's broken voice was the last stab in his accelerating heart. "PIETRO!!!!" She screamed and fell to her knees in anguish.

Bruce was going to kill Strucker. No, Hulk probably was, he realized briefly as everything went green.

***

Tony's eyes widened in horror at the scene unfolding on screen. He heard the sound of alarms going off throughout the building including in his own cell, which made it hard to hear what was going on now that Hulk was out.

The Hulk was staring down Wanda hard, looking between her and Pietro like he was confused. He roared and took a step forward, but Wanda stood her ground.

"Come on, Big Guy!" Tony urged, wishing he could get in there. "You know them. You know she didn't mean it. I trust you."

Wanda didn't seem to be using her powers like Strucker had theorized she would if confronted by a possibly savage Hulk. Then to Tony's surprise, and admittedly with a stutter of his heart, Wanda took a challenging step forward. He wished he knew what she was saying because he didn't hear anything at all amidst the alarm's blare. He did hear a sudden roar though as Hulk faltered back at her confrontational stance.

Suddenly there was an explosion behind him. It was followed by a violent clank against the cuffs that bound his wrists behind his chair, freeing him. Tony immediately bent down and untied his ankles and then stood up quickly to see Steve and Natasha, the latter on lookout at the door.

"Still think we're not on your side, Tony?" Steve asked with a laugh in his tone. 

"If you and Pepper get married, I will personally pay for your entire wedding and honeymoon. Hell, I'll walk you down the aisle. You know, since anyone who marries Pepper will be the bride."

"How about we get out of here first," Steve said with a laugh and then looked back at him with wide eyes.

"How did you find us?"

"Well, JARVIS alerted Pepper that there had been a critical error in the suit suggesting the use of an EMP." Tony blinked. He didn't recall creating that protocol for the AI to follow. "And apparently the kids weren't using Pietro's super speed because after awhile the trackers recalibrated and told us something was wrong. We wish we could have gotten here sooner."

"You're right on time, Cap," Tony said with relief and quickly turned back toward the screen in indication. He was surprised however to see Pietro awake, seemingly fine, with his hands on the glass wall that held them in and Wanda standing with her hands out in front of her glowing red. Then in one quick swoop Hulk punched the glass and in another shielded the twins from the shatter. "What the hell?" Tony said, unbelieving. "I have no clue what's going on at this point."

"Then why don't we go find out," Natasha said before taking off. There was the sound of a struggle and when he and Steve left the cell they found two agents disposed of. Then Natasha tilted her head studiously. "Kinky." She lifted an eyebrow. "Want to keep it for recreational purposes? I could find the key. Bruce might appreciate it. Or want to use it. Whatever."

"Is this really the time?" Steve asked in frustration.

"Yeah, can't say bondage does much for me these days," Tony ignored his question and answered hers. She shrugged nonchalantly and pulled out one of her widow bites, short circuiting the lock mechanism so that it released. "Thank you," he said in honest relief as he pulled it off and chucked it behind him. He then made to hurry to find Hulk and his kids only to be pulled back by Steve.

"I'm going in first. You in the middle. Natasha will flank."

"You're kidding?"

"Do you have your suit?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then, no. I'm not. Let's go."

Tony huffed, but didn't argue further as they pressed forward in Steve's preferred formation. They met with four agents on their way and Tony felt a little vindicated when he managed to take out one without his suit. He didn't work out for _no_ reason, after all, no matter what certain archers thought to the contrary.

"Where is Strucker?" Steve demanded from the fourth agent as he held him tightly by his neck. Tony had to admit he was a little surprised by his roughness. Then again maybe he'd had to be a little rough to survive a World War. Tony was still just struggling to see the difference between the actual man and the glamorized man his father had gushed about. "You've got five seconds," Steve said.

The agent looked at Tony and something about his look seemed laced with meaning before Steve knocked him out for lack of verbal compliance.

"What was that about?" Natasha asked, looking at Tony.

"I don't know. I—" He furrowed his brow. "Strucker isn't going to run this time," he said as his brain cycled through the possibilities. "He's going to go after the twins if it kills him. He said something about repeating history. He's... He's obsessed with Wanda. He wants to break her. He seems to think that's the key."

"It is," Natasha said with small quaver of her head and hard swallow that made Tony's blood go cold. "What do we do?"

"Give him what he wants," Tony said on impulse and started running to find the madman.

"Tony, stop!" Steve called after him. "What do you mean give him what he wants?"

"He wants a confrontation and he wants me as the fulcrum. Trust me," he then said. "Stay clear, but be ready to cover me."

Tony took off running faster before they could protest further. His plan depended on finding his kids before Strucker did. He turned a corner hoping there weren't any agents there. That hope was foiled when he was greeted by an agent who immediately came charging toward him, only to drop to the ground. On the other side of him was Clint with his bow raised.

"Stark, Nat said you're going after Strucker."

"Yes, but first I'm going after—" Suddenly there was a familiar breeze and Tony quickly turned back around to see Pietro come to a sudden halt a few feet away. Then he zoomed back up to him. "There you are. Where's your sister and Hulk?"

"Fighting agents. I went looking for you or the others when I heard the agents shouting that the Avengers were here."

"Take me to them," Tony said.

"I've never pulled an adult that far before," he said worriedly.

"Hey, you can do this. Take me as far as you can, kiddo," Tony encouraged and before he could blink Pietro had his hand and he felt the world go by in a rush similar to when he was in his suit. Only he had a HUD in his suit to keep better orientation so he closed his eyes.

"Papa!" He opened them and realized he'd come to a stop and was standing in front of Wanda and Hulk in the base's large courtyard.

"Nice Tony safe." Hulk grunted in a pleased manner. Tony had to admit he blinked a few times at the nickname. "Little Tony-kids make Banner scared. Hulk keep little Tony-kids safe," he said in a smug manner.

"You…" He scrunched his face. He then looked at Wanda and Pietro. "I figured out you two must have been playing possum. But you made Bruce Hulk out on purpose? That was really reckless. He didn't know?"

Wanda shook her head. "Because we're connected Pietro can hear my thoughts if I direct them to him. I told him to play along. To say mean things to me." Tony looked back and forth between her and Pietro and then her and Hulk. Suddenly a few strange exchanges he'd noted back at the tower now made sense. "We needed Hulk, but Bruce thought Strucker would use Hulk if he let him out."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't wrong. You maybe got lucky." The irony of his words were not lost on him and he suddenly realized why Bruce had needed time to really reconcile what could have happened with what didn't. But there wasn't time to think about it now. He crouched down in front of Wanda. "Remind me to talk to you about consent when we get home. Now tell me if you can connect—"

"Bravo, Mr. Stark."

Tony froze and felt Wanda do the same. Hulk roared fiercely. "No, Hulk," Tony said firmly as he carefully raised Wanda's hand to his temple. She gave him a strange look. Hulk stopped roaring and looked at Tony with a huff. Wanda tilted her head in sudden understanding and he nodded. "Strucker is mine to deal with," he said loudly and then winced as he felt the odd intrusion of Wanda's mind in his.

He saw quick flashes of memories of his cold and distant father, his loneliness, the cave in Afghanistan, Stane's betrayal, nearly dying. Then there was Pepper, Rhodey, the video his father had left that proved he'd cared maybe a little, his mother, and Jarvis, and his kids and Bruce. With each passing image his heart grew warmer, he felt calmer, like the steadiness he needed. "Don't waste your life, Stark," Yinsen echoed in his mind. He wasn't. He definitely wasn't wasting his life anymore. 

"I love you, Wanda. I won't let him hurt you," Tony said when she pulled back, hoping it looked like a genuine touching moment between father and daughter. He then stood to his feet and turned to face Strucker at last. "I won't let you hurt any of them." He took several steps forward to meet him head on.

_Don't follow me, Wanda._

_Okay._

_Tell your brother.  
_

_You can talk to Hulk like this too?_

_Yes._

_Tell him too._

He then rushed Strucker and threw a punch. Strucker only stumbled a few steps back before returning a blow which Tony blocked. They battled like this one on one for a few moments before, as Tony had hoped, several agents came out of the wood work to protect their leader. Tony turned to take them on as well, throwing a few punches to make it look good, but then succumbed until he was on his knees. Hulk roared.

_Wanda tell him I'm okay. It's an act. Like Pietro_. He felt the ground shake with Hulk's bounding toward them, but then he stopped short with another threatening roar.

Strucker looked warily at Hulk, but then was back to his usual way. "You can see why we selected you for your IQ."

"I'm not the one who needed to be rescued by his men," Tony said with a snort. "Hulk knows I can fight my own battles. He just wants you to know what'll happen if you by some miracle get lucky."

"Interesting choice of words, Mr. Stark. Miracles are terrifying things."

"Save it," Tony spat. "I heard your spiel to Dr. Banner before. You think Wanda is a miracle? You're right. She _is_ a miracle. And I'll admit she wouldn't be here at all if not for your insanity, so here's a Schrodinger thank you. But at the same time I'd really prefer a universe where she was born to someone else and had a wonderful childhood and way better father than I am because she deserves better than what you've done to her, _you_ _sonofabitch_."

Strucker looked ready to strike him, but flinched in a way that indicated he'd stopped himself. He recovered with a calculating smile. Tony looked around. He only had a few short moments to take stock of everything, run his own calculation, and come up with the best possible way to beat this bastard.

_Wanda, I think he's going to try and kill me,_ he then warned Wanda ahead of time. _I'm going to let him try.  
_

_No, papa! No._ She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"The thing about miracles, Mr. Stark," Strucker said as he circled around him, the two agents forcing Tony around as well, "is they don't always come when you want them to." Tony tuned him out until he was an annoying buzz in the background, going on and on about miracles.

_He wants you to try and stop him, but fail. Just like before._

_And I will! I'll fail!_

_You're not going to fail, Wanda. You figured out how to get out of that cell, didn't you?_

_That's different. I knew we needed Hulk to be strong enough. But, but I don't know how to stop him. I can't.  
_

_Yes. You can. You're not alone this time, Wanda. I promise you, we'll be okay. Trust me._

Tony was forced to focus on Strucker again when he pulled out a pistol and cocked it in his direction. "-and sometimes the miracle comes later when you're too broken to comprehend it." Tony glared, understanding his choice of words.

Hulk roared and Tony saw Natasha startle from where he'd glimpsed her position. He could imagine the others were thinking he was crazy as well. Strucker returned to a buzz in his ears when the man started taunting Wanda to do something.

_Papa, I can't do this. I can't save you! I've never made a force field that big before or...or stopped a bullet. I don't even know if I can levitate him._ He saw her stretch out her hands and grit her teeth just beyond Strucker _. I'm trying, but I can't do it. Pietro is smaller. We've been practicing, but... I can't! He's right.  
_

_Stop listening to him and listen to me, sweetheart. I’m not asking you to do any of those things right now._

_Then what?_ Her tone was confused.

_You heard him. He picked me to be your dad because of my mind. So let's use our minds, Wanda. He obviously doesn't know about your other little party trick with the mind link so he won't see it coming. Working together this way got you out of that cell so we can do it together. Just, listen to everything I tell you, got it? Don't hesitate._ Tony looked around a few more times. Waiting for the last moment. For Strucker to turn the gun back toward him just in case the very worst _should_ happen. _Tell Pietro to start running in circles around us as fast as he can. Now!_

In seconds the dust and debris of the courtyard began to shift and slowly rise.

_Hold your breath, Wanda._

"Clearly your daughter is not capable, Mr. Stark, and you? Well, you've served your purp—" Strucker stopped talking to look around, lowering his gun just slightly in confusion as the debris rose higher in a visible vacuum. "Ah, so the other one wants to try and play hero this—" his voice caught. "t-ti-me."

_Wanda, the gun_ , Tony said when he saw it start to loosen from Strucker's grasp.

Wanda's hands began to glow red and she yanked the gun away from him. The two agents behind Tony let go of him, gasping for air. Tony attempted to push himself up to his feet, unable, and as he did he saw Hulk looking frenzied, mouth open in a soundless roar.

_Papa... I can't..._

_Tell Pietro to stop! Tony thought loudly when he realized her smaller lungs needed to breathe.  
_

Suddenly the vacuum broke and the debris rained down on them as they all gasped for air, Strucker and the agents falling to their knees. Then a roar rang out throughout the courtyard belatedly, causing the agents to scrabble away and Hulk to look around in manic confusion. Tony stood to his feet and pulled Strucker up with him in a vengeful hold. The other three Avengers swooped in at last in support.

"I'm sorry, what was that about my son not being special?" Tony asked rhetorically, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Pietro crowed. "Bet you didn't see that coming."

"I…" Strucker wheezed. "How?"

"Just a little trick he picked up in extreme dodgeball," Tony said breezily. He then fixed the man with a glare and answered the question with vindication. "You see, _Baron_. I figured it out. Because, like you said, you picked me for my IQ and that's what someone with my IQ does. It sometimes takes me a minute, but I get there." He paused. "It hit me that the files indicate almost all of the later experiments were conducted separately. You separated them and you started fixating on Wanda. I didn't understand just how much until you started talking about three-headed monsters."

He pushed him back forcefully and Steve latched onto him, immediately restraining his hands behind him. Wanda and Pietro moved to Tony's sides.

"It's a mind game," Natasha interjected. "Like the ones they used in the Red Room."

"Exactly. It was all a mind game. You," he pointed, "kept them apart on purpose. You spoke of making them stronger, but you already knew they were stronger together. Only that wouldn't work because of your fixation on Wanda. To be stronger on her own you decided you needed to eliminate a factor. But separating them wasn't enough, was it? Oh sure. Killing me. Killing Marya. Killing Bruce. Those are all nice cogs. But _ultimately_ you knew that to break her, you'd have to sacrifice him. You'd have to cut off his head to create your monster." Both flinched beside him and Tony placed a comforting hand on their far shoulders. 

Natasha suddenly whipped out her hand so that it was wrapped around Stucker's throat. "How about I cut off yours?" she threatened with an almost distant look in her eyes.

Tony looked at her with a small frown for what she'd gone through, but he didn't stop her from showing her care for his kids in the way she knew how. He knew she wouldn't kill him so he didn't give a damn if he suffered a little.

"So it seems I underestimated Pietro," Strucker seemed to be trying for a last-breath taunt, voice strangled. Clint placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder and finally she released him, the man coughing at the loss of restraint. "But Wanda merely did a parlor trick she mastered a long time ago. She still has so much potential."

Tony hummed. "Well, if that's what'll help you sleep where you're going, then believe what you want." He saw Strucker's eyes widen in disbelief and suspicion all at once as Steve dragged him away with Clint and Natasha following behind. It was clear he didn't know if Tony was just playing another mind game with him and Tony was more than okay with that.

"We did it!" Pietro cheered once they were alone.

"We saved you," Wanda said like she still couldn't believe it.

"You did, sweetheart. You both did." He looked at them both, seeing their faces glow with a sense of relief and accomplishment both. Tony then hugged them tightly. 

"Pretty Tony should have let Hulk smash," Hulk interrupted with a disapproving grunt. "Save time."

"Nice Tony? Pretty Tony?" Tony looked at him in amusement. "Uh, thanks for the adjectives, Big Guy. Definitely flattered. And, I know, but you can have the next one. This one had to be broken a different way." Hulk just gave a sort of humph as if he wasn't sure, but was willing to trust him. "And it wasn't just about breaking him. It was about doing a little to fix what he's broken." The looks on his kids' faces told him he'd made the right call. 

That Hulk did seem to understand as he looked at Wanda and Pietro. "Banner come back now," he announced.

"Oh." Tony blinked. "Well, you know you more than earned a little time out not fighting, Big Guy," Tony offered even if part of him did selfishly want Bruce back after what they'd been through.

"Not fight. Banner want to see little Tony-kids."

Tony smiled wide. "Thanks, Hulk."

Hulk grunted in affirmative and Wanda rushed over to him and gave him a hug before starting to sing again. Hulk gave a pleased grin and started to close his eyes.

"See you later, Hulk!" Pietro added just before Hulk started to shrink down.

Tony watched in awe as he shrank down completely, much faster than usual. He hurried to catch the man in tattered clothing – they really needed to come up with some kind of material that expanded and contracted indefinitely – before he could fall harshly to the ground.

"I'll go find a coat or something," Pietro said and before Tony could tell him not to, he was gone. He shook his head and decided to trust him. He'd more than earned it and it was good to see his confidence boosted again after the way Strucker had spoken to him.

"Did you do what I think you did?" Bruce asked in a raspy voice as he opened his eyes.

Tony decided it was definitely one of those days just full of surprises as he let Bruce go to stand on his own. "You usually don't wake up so fast," he stated the obvious.

"Not fight," Wanda said with an eager smile. "Papa, they found peace!"

Bruce blinked, but then smiled at Wanda. "Well, we're working on it anyways," he indulged her. "It's… definitely another step."

"Good," Wanda said happily and hugged him tightly, which Bruce returned with one arm. "I'm so glad you're okay. You're not sick anymore, right?"

"I'm not sick anymore," Bruce told her.

"I was scared we'd lose you too," she said and hugged him tighter.

"I know," Bruce said with a nod. "I think it's safe to say we were all scared."

Suddenly, Pietro reappeared with two lab coats. "These were all I could find."

"Uh…" Bruce looked hesitant. "Are you… okay if I wear one?"

Wanda stepped back and nodded. He took the larger of the two and put it on.

"Sorry we made you Hulk out," Wanda said shyly then.

Bruce sighed. "I'm not upset. You were trying to save me because you care. Your intentions were good. You didn't know how else to do so. It was reckless, but…" Bruce looked at Tony then. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I'll just have to learn how to deal with it."

"So, I'm not really sure how much you know of what I did," Tony started with a tentative bite of his bottom lip. "But I'm guessing-"

"Enough," Bruce finished with a sharp enough expression that Tony knew he shared Hulk's opinion that he shouldn't have taken the chance he had. 

"Then you know I got lucky. I got _lucky_ , Bruce," he admitted. He needed Bruce to know he understood his point of view now. He needed him to know that he would have to learn how to deal with Bruce's methods too. "I know that. I'm glad I did, but you don't have to give me the spiel. I one hundred percent kno— _mmph_."

Tony was surprised by the sudden firm kiss and the arm that gripped the back of his neck to pull him into it. Wanda and Pietro giggled and Tony smiled against Bruce's lips before wrapping an arm around his back to pull the barely-clad man closer to him, kissing back eagerly.

"I love you," Bruce said, pulling away and shaking his head. "You're reckless, you like to push your luck, I honestly think you might be madder than a hatter, and I love you." Tony smiled and they kissed again before pressing their foreheads together. Then Bruce turned his head, still pressed against Tony's, to one side then the other. "And," he said, pulling back, "I love your amazingly reckless little miracles too."

With the same thought in mind, they both held out a free arm and the twins immediately joined them both for the best damn hug Tony had ever had in is life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. CLUSTERFUCK CLIMAX OF CONVOLUTION. is how I feel about all of my climaxes :/  
> 2\. I know this chapter doesn't follow the same flow of the others in terms of pov, but I couldn't figure out a way to structure it otherwise and tell the same story.  
> 3\. The lullaby at the beginning is from one of many translations of Welsh tune Suo Gân, this one by Robert Bryan and sometimes known as Sleep My Baby (with modernization from thous/thees/etc. as I first heard it ages ago). It's always been my headcanon (and maybe it was actually something canon in the comics that I internalized, but don't remember the specific reference?) that Rebecca Banner was of Irish descent given the reddish hair and her first name thus I went with a Welsh lullaby.  
> 4\. Some hints of Wanda's Nexus Being background, but I'll be up front about it: it's a never-confirmed Macguffin for Strucker's obsession with unlocking her potential. He may or may not be right that there's more than just powers from scientific experimentation at work.  
> 5\. Strucker's comment about Bruce's physiology and Tony's confusion about it was meant to be a subtle hint that just like canon, HYDRA has at the very least compromised SHIELD to some degree. But I guess not to the point that Strucker figured out where the kids were...uh...fridge logic? Oops.  
> 6\. After all the Wanda-centricness I had to give Pietro his moment to shine and learn he's got something to bring to the table too. Vindication for both of them!  
> 7\. I've decided to post the last two chapters simultaneously.


	13. Chapter 13

6 Months, 5 Days and… Well, it was getting harder to keep track of the minutes, but it had been 6 months and 5 days since Bruce had been on the grid. Now he was _definitely_ certain he'd fallen down a hole and ended up in Wonderland. There couldn't be any other explanation for how he could go from spending a few days at Stark Tower with every intention of a trip to Port Authority immediately after to being in love with Stark himself and crazy about the two children that had appeared out of the blue.

He'd even finally told Tony so and his reaction had been amusing. He'd gone so far as to suggest redecorating the lab with neon colors, adding a full retro lounge where the twins could hang out and calling it Wonderland. Seeing as this conversation took place during post-coital cuddling in bed, Bruce had a sneaking suspicion he might have absentmindedly agreed to the over-the-top idea. He reckoned he wouldn't know for sure until he walked into one – or maybe all – of the labs and found it looking like it had just been wheeled off from a Disney Channel set while no one was looking. (Bruce, for better or worse, was quickly becoming affluent in all things Disney Channel, as was Tony.)

Then again, in spite of his logical instinct to say, "No, Tony" he'd probably be quickly convinced. If it made the twins think of science and a lab as something that _could_ be good, _could_ be fun, and wasn't _all_ evil genius run amok, then it didn't matter if it didn't make much sense logically. And if the tower _was_ Wonderland he couldn't help musing that while Wonderland might not have made any sense to Alice its nonsense had made his own life finally _make_ sense. Maybe that wasn't such a bad theme to run with.

"Tada!" Bruce was pulled from his introspection, which had begun by his musing over the paintings that were proudly displayed on the refrigerator: one of Hulk and one of 'my dad and his boyfriend' rather than the expected JARVIS – although Bruce had noticed Wanda _did_ seem to be growing attached to the AI. He turned to look at Tony and Wanda where they sat at the breakfast bar. Tony apparently had finished his latest attempt at braiding Wanda's hair while they waited for dinner to be finished. "No, seriously. I think I actually did it this time."

Wanda pulled up her hand mirror and started inspecting it. "It's good!" She gave him a bright smile.

Suddenly Pietro rushed over from the dining table. "Hey, it _does_ look like a braid," he said in a trolling tone. "Maybe we should make him cookies," he then suggested with what could only be described as a hopeful smirk in Bruce's direction.

"Okay, okay," Tony scowled playfully. "No need to be patronizing. And nice try, pal, but we're not having cookies tonight."

Bruce came around the island to look at the braid as well. "Hey, it _does_ look like a braid," he echoed Pietro teasingly.

"Okay, technically I _am_ a genius," Tony said with a small pout.

"I know," Bruce said, mimicking the pout before shaking his head and giving Tony a quick peck.

"And I can learn just about anything eventually."

Bruce gave a soft hum as he moved back to where he'd been chopping up some vegetables prior to his dazed thoughts and the interruption. "Which I guess means you'll be French-braiding in no time." He gave Tony a mischievous glance and Tony's brain clearly stuttered like a deer in headlights.

"Yeah, okay, I _can_ technically learn just about anything, but that doesn't technically mean I _have_ to," he said. Bruce raised his brows at that. "She already has one parent who can handle it. No need to over extend myself, be the hero, take all the glory," he prattled while Bruce went a little dumb at how casually Tony had referred to him as another parent. Bruce wasn't an expert by any means, but he was fairly sure that a boyfriend didn't typically get a stepdad upgrade that quickly.

"Um…" It was all he could manage as he finished the vegetables and pushed them into a bowl. "Want to rinse?" he asked Wanda in deflection. She nodded and accepted his unspoken invitation to do so with her powers if she wanted to.

Meanwhile Tony looked at him incredulously. "What? Seriously? Bruce, you've basically been my co-parent since the very beginning. Us dating doesn't change the basic principle, merely strengthens it. If we were still just buddies, I'd definitely still want you around to be my honorary co-parent. You know, provided you were still hanging around. By the way that reminds me it's time for my daily entreaty: please, don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Bruce said to the last bit of Tony's point. Eventually that would get old if it continued, but their argument and the abduction that had immediately proceeded was still relatively fresh in their minds so he was willing to indulge him. And himself, because he was determined for it not to be an empty promise and he could stand the reminder every now and then.

"Would it be weird if I called you papa too?" Wanda asked hesitantly when the vegetables were clean. She looked back and forth between them uncertainly.

"That's your dad's special title," Bruce said, though he wasn't sure how he'd managed it past his fluttering chest and the breath that had died in the back of his throat. He looked at Tony to see his reaction. It would have been easier if Tony had been reading jealousy or dread at that prospect. "He shouldn't have to share it needlessly."

"Needlessly?" Tony echoed.

Wanda gave a considering look and after a moment said, "But you're special too. You're more special than just Bruce."

"She's right and I'm surprisingly just as okay with sharing the title," Tony said. "Like I said, you'd make a wonderful papa." Bruce pursed his lips to keep the emotion that stirred in him over that.

"You don't think you'd get a little confused if you called us both papa?" Bruce tried to deflect again, this time with humor. "If you call for one of us specifically, how will we know which one of us should answer?"

"That's a trick question because you know we both would if we were both around," Tony said matter-of-factly. He was probably right.

"Well," Wanda took the question seriously however, "maybe we could call you Papa Tony and Papa Bruce."

"Oh god, we sound like we're in the mafia," Bruce couldn't help saying and Tony snorted in agreement. Pietro started snickering, but Bruce then realized Wanda had meant it sincerely. "But, that's fun. That definitely makes us unique," he offered. "I think if you want to call us, or me, anything at all then it's up to you," he finally conceded. "Give it some thought. Maybe you'll decide just Bruce is still okay."

Tony smiled at him. "He's right. You want to call us both papa, or think of something else, then we'll be okay with that. We'll figure the dynamic out."

"We could call him step-papa," Pietro suggested in a thoughtful tone.

"Step-papa?" Pepper's voice asked and they all looked to see her and Steve, both looking nice enough that Bruce suspected this was a very quick house call and nothing more. "Oh no. Please tell me there wasn't a marriage proposal." She looked back and forth between him and Tony. "I realize your relationship is… unique, but friends to lovers to marriage in two months? Would it kill you to be just a little bit normal? Slow down?"

"It might," Tony said. "See, think my reactor actually flickered at the prospect." He looked down. Pepper frowned. "Relax, Pepper," Tony shook his head then, "we're not getting married."

"And here I had my heart set on it," Bruce deadpanned.

Tony looked back at him quickly. "That so?"

Bruce chortled and shook his head. He then looked at Pepper and Steve. "We were discussing co-parenting. Ah, without the official union," he clarified. "So don't worry. No need to alert the press just yet."

"Thank God," Pepper said with a sigh, "because I think PR would actually revolt and I'd send them straight to your front door, Tony. I need at least five minutes before you create any other media scenes."

"Deal," Tony agreed. "But only five. _And_ you have to take my side and tell Bruce that he's practically already Wanda and Pietro's other dad."

"You are," Steve fielded that one and Tony puffed out his chest a little at having one of them in his corner.

"I plead the fifth. As an ex _and_ a boss I have the right to stay out of all domestic disputes," Pepper said, raising her hands.

"Fine," Tony said with a put-upon sigh. "I'll let bygones be bygones. And to prove it, do you two want to join us for dinner?" Tony then asked them. Steve and Pepper gave one another a look.

"Tony," Bruce intervened, "it's Friday night. I'm pretty sure they already have plans."

"We do," Pepper said with a small, grateful smile toward him and Steve looked visibly relieved. "But, we agreed we could put them off for a few moments to give you the big news." Bruce furrowed his brow and glanced at Tony. "I got a call from legal right before I left for the day. The judge just faxed over a copy of the final orders."

"You mean?" Tony was on his feet immediately.

"It's official!" Pepper raised her arms in a cheer, glancing around at each of them. Beside her Steve was practically beaming from ear-to-ear, no doubt privileged to be there for the moment. Wanda and Pietro immediately looked at each other and then began cheering as well.

"Oh my god! Bruce!"

"I know, Tony. I know," Bruce said through his emotions over the news.

Tony looked around stunned and Bruce quickly moved towards him, only to be pulled into a happy embrace. Then he hugged Pepper and even Steve before sweeping up his kids into one big bear hug.

"We're definitely having cookies now," Tony declared and Bruce couldn't argue.

6 months and 5 days later, Bruce had a definite rhyme and reason for sticking around.

***

"They are absolutely adorable, Tony," the host said as the large screen behind the guest couch showed a photo of him with Wanda and Pietro in their Halloween costumes. "Don't you agree, audience?" The audience of course applauded.

"What? Adorable? They're hoodlums," Tony teased. "No, they're amazing. Having them come into my life has been a wonderful journey so far and I look forward to the rest of it."

"It's obviously been a very big year for you," the host said with a laugh. "Aliens, kids and if other rumors are to be believed, maybe even a new romance?" The screen changed to a paparazzi photo that had been making the rounds, of Tony and Bruce making out against one of his cars after a dinner date.

"I told you we might regret that," Bruce said with a wince as he looked at Tony on the other side of Wanda and Pietro. They were all four squeezed onto the couch in the common lounge as they all watched a DVR'd interview from that morning.

"Still don't," Tony replied back to the man with a leer and broad shoulder hitch. "Especially not when we—"

"Stop. Now." Natasha gave him a death glare. He frowned at her.

"No, no, not just one of my infamous hook-ups," Tony said quickly to one of the questions. "It might not have worked out, but Pepper Potts reformed me," he said with a laugh. "I've traded in the playboy title for good. Which, you know, works better now that I'm a dad. But without getting into too many details, well, that guy there has changed my world." Everyone in the audience responded in awe. "Not letting that one get away anytime soon." He winked at the camera then.

The others gave an "aww" at the television and Tony glanced at Bruce to see him smiling as if he still couldn't believe it.

"Now _that_ was pretty damn smooth, Stark." Tony turned in unison with the others to see Fury standing just inside the room. "I caught the broadcast earlier. Thought I'd come by and say so myself." Tony glanced at Bruce with a raised eyebrow, seeing in his expression the same knowing. Tony then got up and crossed over to the Director. "I'm sure you know why I'm really here."

"You came to confess your undying love to me?" Tony asked with a raised brow. "Because you missed your chance. As you can clearly see, I'm already spoken for."

Fury shook his head. "So you told the host you're thinking about moving back west again," Fury drawled, getting to the point as Tony led him out onto the balcony for a more private conversation.

Tony immediately regretted the location change given his inappropriate dress for November in New York. He crossed his arms and turned to look at Fury. "Well, it's warmer. That's for sure."

"And just when you got the band back together?" Fury quipped. He had a sense of humor somewhere underneath the ridiculous trench coat.

Tony snorted. "Still missing Thor. We could really use the bass. And speaking of bases, nothing's set in stone, Bruce and I are still discussing it, but I'm thinking about building a West Coast Avengers HQ. Seems a little rude to limit our time and services to the East Coast."

"You think Congress and the WSC is going to just let you drag Banner to the opposite side of the country?" Fury eyed him dubiously. "I'm not even sure _I'll_ let you drag him to the opposite side of the country."

"You were going to let him go to the opposite side of the world," Tony countered, feeling his blood begin to get warm. "He'll still be in the country, with me, and with the team if I build a base there. And that's all under the premise I give a single fuck. He's not a prisoner, Fury."

"No, he's not," Fury agreed quicker than he expected. "But you need to accept the fact that he's an individual with unique abilities that make it necessary for him to play nice. And smart."

"Like my kids?" Tony bristled.

Fury looked at him evenly. "How long have you been in the SHIELD system, Stark?"

Tony blinked at the unexpected question. "Since the bridge. Why are you asking? You know that already."

"I do know that." Fury nodded. "So you're telling me that JARVIS was advanced enough to allude all of our best techs for months, but it took him as long as it did to find a single file about you? That's a very interesting AI you have there, Stark." Tony furrowed his brow. Then both eyebrows shot upward in epiphany. "Bingo. He didn't find it before because it wasn't there to be found."

Tony felt his warm blood go cold, the November chill suddenly more biting than before, as he recalled his nightmare. "Hook, line and sinker."

"Well," Fury shrugged slowly in an uncertain fashion, "something like that."

"Why?" Tony demanded immediately.

Fury eyed him and then slowly crossed to another side of the balcony, looking through the glass at the oblivious group inside. "A few reasons, Stark. For one, it's what Coulson wanted."

"A parting gift," Tony said soberly, feeling a twinge in his chest at the other man's memory.

"Call it what you will, it just seemed like something I could do for him," Fury answered. "But only after I looked over everything again and came to the same conclusion. Those kids need you and you were ready for the responsibility. Of course, I know you, Stark. Can't just drop a bomb on you. No, you have to go looking for them to really make you act."

"So you planted the file and waited for me to find it. You needed to see my reaction as a final test," Tony put the pieces together. Fury knew him scarily well.

"And I needed to put up continued resistance to make sure the conclusion was right. I needed to see if you _could_ make those kids stronger."

Tony blanched. "Stronger?" He moved closer to where Fury was still stood looking in at the others rather than out at the city. "What do you mean stronger?" Fury didn't answer. "Strong enough to fight? _Are_ you using me to make these kids soldiers?" he demanded.

Fury glanced at him. "You said it yourself in the beginning, Stark. The kind of person you turned into? A person realizes he or she is stronger that person is then faced with a choice. They can become a hero or a villain. And it's a vanishing breed that picks heroism over villainy without some kind of guiding hand. And don't kid yourself, Tony. The world is changing and we need all the heroes we can get. If they learn to fight on our side for the Earth because you showed them the way, well, that's not a bad thing."

Tony frowned. "But they're just kids. And I want them to _be_ kids. I want them to be safe. After everything they've been through they don't need to go running into battle with their dad every five minutes."

"That may be inevitable," Fury said with a sigh. He then looked back inside and his gaze seemed to linger on Natasha or maybe it was Tony's imagination. "But you might be surprised that I want them to be kids too, Stark. So whether it's here, there or Kalamazoo, I'm not going to stand in your way of giving them the best life you can," he conceded to Tony's surprise and glanced back at him. "I never had any intention of keeping them from you if I saw you were able to handle them and wanted them. I'm just here to remind you always to be ready for the worst. There's nothing wrong with being prepared. Hopefully not anytime soon, I agree, but someday we may need them."

Tony didn't respond and Fury took that as his cue to leave. "Wait," Tony thought of something left unsaid just as Fury reached the door to head back inside. Fury stopped. "This best life thing. You realize it's a package deal. It includes Bruce. Where me and those kids go, he goes. As long as that's what he wants. Like I said before, I'm willing to fight that battle too if I have to. And, for sake of argument, you're right about the future – and, yeah, you probably are," he conceded, "those kids need him just as much as they need me."

"Anyone ever tell you, you have trust issues?" Fury asked without turning back to look at him, just inclining his head slightly toward his shoulder.

"Anyone ever tell you, you're a liar?" Tony countered.

Fury turned and looked at him. "Yeah. He did. Turns out, he was right." He smiled thinly. "But only partially." Tony blinked a few times. "So use those trust issues to your advantage, Stark. Learn who your allies are and pick your battles wisely. And while you're at it, check the news every now and then. I hear there's some interesting stuff going on in military politics right now. Something about an impending investigation." Tony's eyes widened as Fury reentered the tower, leaving him standing there dumbly.

Tony turned and looked out on the city. The futurist in him couldn't deny Fury wasn't inherently wrong. After their short visit to Hotel HYDRA, he'd had a few more hellish nightmares that Bruce had had to talk him through. It all boiled down to his never wanting Wanda and Pietro to be in harm's way like that again and, even if Fury was right and the world _was_ changing and there _were_ villains, Bruce had struck on the harshest truth of the matter for him to hear as a father. There _would_ eventually come a day when he would have to let the kids start making their own calls even if it scared him, even if those calls were stupid. Even if they could be spared from a life of regular Earth-saving and danger, it was still a universal truth he would have to acknowledge. Tony just wanted to make the most of the time, keep them as safe as possible, until that inevitable day.

"What did he say?" Tony's thoughts were broken by Bruce's question as the physicist joined him.

"He's not going to stop us." His hunch told him that Fury meant Bruce as well. "If we decide to pack it up, head elsewhere, he'll still be keeping his eye on us, but he won't interfere."

"Huh. Well," Bruce said in a considering fashion as Tony pulled him closer to him, "I can still see the pros and cons of it. I mean, I'm kind of really curious about your place in Washington," he said, a smile in his tone. "Sounds nice. But this isn't a call we make without giving it a lot of thought. Of course, I'll go where you go," the then added more softly.

Tony held him closer. "I told him as much. But it has to be a family decision and I think we talk to the team about it too. See where their heads are at about this whole gig so far." Bruce just gave a hum in agreement. Tony shifted just enough and craned his neck at the right angle to look at him earnestly. "Here or there it doesn't matter if we're together."

Bruce smiled softly. "That's a little cliché."

"A little," Tony agreed, inching closer.

"But maybe for a reason," he said then with half lidded eyes before they shared a kiss that immediately brought a little heat back to Tony's body.

"Papa!" Pietro interrupted and they both broke the kiss to look down at the boy practically vibrating with energy.

"See," Tony didn't miss the opportunity though to make a point, "when we're both around we already both look when the kids call." Bruce just gave a half smile. "What is it, Pietro?"

" _SteveandClintsaidthey'lltakeustoseeWreck-ItRalphagainifwewant.Can we go?Can we!?Please!_ "

Tony blinked and looked at Bruce. "I'm still working on my speed-speak," he said with a chuckle and Bruce nodded as Wanda joined them.

"He said Steve and Clint offered to take us to see _Wreck-It Ralph_ again if we want and you say it's okay."

"Hmm," Tony said thoughtfully. He looked at Bruce. "We could probably use a date night."

"Not involving cars," Bruce said evenly.

"Fun sucker," Tony bantered back. He looked down lewdly. "Oh yes, a very fun sucker." Bruce's eyes widened and Tony gave him a smirk before looking back at the twins. "Yeah, you can go." 

"Yes!" Pietro immediately became exuberant until Wanda, who was wearing a jacket, pushed another one into the boy's hands. "I don't need a jacket. I can just run around to warm up," he balked. "Papa's not wearing one," he pointed out.

Bruce immediately turned a scrutinizing eye on him. "He's right. You should know better."

Tony couldn’t help smiling broadly in answer, any worries about the future flying away on the breeze at least for now. At the moment he felt warm and, even better, perfectly whole.

"When have I ever?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I didn't want to jump too far into the future or have too much going on in the final chapter hence just one pov section each to wrap up a few loose ends. Like: the painting Wanda did, the point from the first chapter about Fury having told Bruce he was working on getting him government-granted protection, Tony officially getting custody, the media finding out (I know realistically that would be dangerous since the world knows he's Iron Man, but realistically he wouldn't be able to keep it from being found out if he was spotted with kids by papz all the time), discussion of the family dynamic they've started to create, Fury showing his hand, etc.  
> 2\. I wanted to keep it a little realistic in that right now they're very happy and ultimately they're a family that will work through things together, butttttt they're still a bunch of superheroes and Fury's right that some things are inevitable. This obviously won't be their last adventure because that's just not how it works.   
> 3\. I also wanted to keep some stuff open-ended. As I discussed the story with my cousin, we weren't sure if it should follow some of the other pre-AoU canonical films from after that (and Coulson being alive) or be its own verse where they go on different adventures instead. So, I tried to add some hints that would make the canonical route plausible (like Tony having nightmares after the abduction and his wanting to build a suit like the Mark 43), but offer some other options (like Washington or staying put) where they just have new adventures - that way I'm not pigeon-holed if by some small miracle I come back to this verse in anyway. 
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope that it was at least somewhat enjoyable and the end satisfying enough to have merited your time. Your comments and kudos have meant a lot to me and in spite of any of my own misgivings, I'm glad that I uploaded it to share with people other than my cousin.


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